With the number of Covid-19 infections in Hong Kong hitting new highs almost daily, the Year of the Tiger is getting off to an extremely bumpy start. To help calm the nerves, political cartoonist Harry Harrison, whose humorous musings appear in the South China Morning Post every day, has come up with a new series of works that promises to bring us some comic relief during these uncertain times. “I have a dark sense of humour and news is seldom good, whatever is going on, so my job usually involves finding something wry in bleak situations,” Harrison says. “In this instant, I’ve tried to keep them light as it’s a festive occasion.” To celebrate the Lunar New Year, the South China Morning Post today revealed a limited series of six framed colour illustrations by Harrison, each to be auctioned online on February 24. Harrison, who came to Hong Kong in 1994 and whose “Harry’s View” cartoon has appeared in the Post since 2001, says challenging times often serve as a source of inspiration for him. “The ridiculous scenarios that occur, particularly as a result of trying to ‘fight the virus’, usually keep the creative juices flowing, but failing that, walking through the streets of Hong Kong during such situations also provides plenty of inspiration,” he says. “As for keeping my spirits up, I’m actually an optimist, although not being able to have a beer in a bar after work because I finish too late for the 6pm curfew does put a dent in my sunny disposition.” Titled “Year of the Tiger: Same Routine, New Stripes”, the series puts our intrepid tiger in the spotlight in works titled Skin Deep , The Poisoned Chalice , The Covid Treadmill , The Negative Test , Hysteria and No Exemption . “I imagined the tiger arriving to start a new job and how that might go,” Harrison says. “The tiger is probably Hong Kong in general, so like me and everyone else who expect there to be a fresh start – only to find that it’s more of the same madness.” This Groundhog Day-like sense of déjà vu may be best illustrated in The Covid Treadmill . “Well, after two years of seemingly going round in circles, with no end in sight, that one was fairly easy to come up with. It sums up what life feels like since Covid arrived: trying to keep pace with a virus that shows no sign of tiring,” Harrison says. And as for Skin Deep : “Regardless of which zodiac animal is supposed to be in charge, we all know who’s really calling the shots, whether it be in terms of Covid strategy or anything else,” he says. The six watercolour works can be bought as a whole or individually. The minimum starting bid for each piece is HK$2,022 (US$260), with bid increments of HK$200. “Obviously, I did them so they’ll sit together as a set, but the different aspects should resonate with different people, so I think they can just as easily be viewed individually,” Harrison says. For more information on the online auction, visit here .