SINGAPORE - Eleven-year-old Aimee Liao's art piece featuring a scientist, doctor and a nurse encapsulates her gratitude to front-line workers for their efforts in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic here.
"I chose bright colours to represent happiness and gratitude," said Aimee, who spent about five weeks completing the piece, created with markers, watercolours and ballpoint pen.
The Primary 5 pupil's artwork won the first prize in the junior category in a national art competition themed Celebrating Our Healthcare Heroes.
Her piece is among more than 100 works of art being exhibited at Ion Art Gallery in Ion Orchard mall.
The Heroes Of Our Time exhibition, co-organised by the National Healthcare Group and Singapore Art Society (SAS), was opened by Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary on Saturday (March 13).
It features pieces by children, youth and migrant workers, among others, in a tribute to healthcare and essential workers who have been at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19.
The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, will run till next Wednesday (March 17).
The key piece in the exhibition, also titled Heroes Of Our Time, was unveiled by Dr Janil on Saturday. The painting, measuring 1.8m by 3m, was created by 18 artists from SAS.
After the exhibition, the collaborative piece will be presented to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.
SAS president Terence Teo, one of the artists involved, said the acrylic painting took six months from August 2020 to design and complete.
"We based the painting on 10 to 20 pictures from the scenes of Singapore's battle against Covid-19. We wanted to show how tough it was to be fighting the virus, yet we wanted their eyes to show their dedication and willingness to work," said Mr Teo in Mandarin.
To ensure safe distancing, a maximum of five artists worked on the piece at a time, he said.
The piece features scenes such as a migrant worker being swabbed for Covid-19, healthcare workers in personal protective gear, and a person scanning a QR code for SafeEntry.
In his opening remarks, Dr Janil said that the Covid-19 crisis required strong collaboration across the healthcare family to ensure that Singapore was prepared and that patients received the appropriate level of care.
"It is this strong sense of commitment and purpose from our healthcare professionals that has helped to keep Singapore safe, and I would like to express my deepest appreciation for every member of the healthcare community," he said.
