Here is another set of artworks created by our artist He Kun, which relate to the impact of the coronavirus on China; this is part of our ongoing project at present – “Art for Wuhan, China”.
Words by He Kun, edited by ArtChina.
The Coronavirus ravaging our world is modern humanity’s common disaster; fighting against the virus is not only for China and all of those impacted across the globe, but also for the dignity of humanity.
Whenever people are in the face of disaster, each one finds his or her own way to fight. As an artist, one of the best ways to fight is to record, in the familiar form of my work where each line signifies an emotion, what is happening during this time in our lives.
The works that I’ve done so far are very much a record of the Coronavirus outbreak from the beginning.
For example, in “The Silent Spring”, the Spring Festival should be lively and decorated, but the town I depicted was very quiet. The small town of Simao was not a centre of the epidemic area; the city was less severely impacted, so the artwork was more relaxing.
The “We Are Fighting” theme is naturally present in artwork depicting those health workers on the frontline working against virus.
“Don’t Go Out This Spring” painted a picture of the people who have been quarantined at home.
These works convene our emotions and actions: fighting, helpless, sadness, promising, and hope for the future.
The current paintings in this collection are sizes 137cm x 68cm, 198cm x 98cm, up to 365cm x 147cm. I will soon complete two new works in the largest size, before painting several smaller size portraits of medical staff and the public during this period.
As the coronavirus is continuing to spread globally, we hope we can learn from this experience which has cost so many lives in China already; we hope we will overcome this disease soon and restore harmony in our lives again.