Artist Preserves Wuhan’s COVID Memories

Artist Preserves Wuhan’s COVID Memories

Chinese artist Yang Qian using dots to recreate an aerial view of Wuhan, China, under lockdown at her studio in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021. (AP)

Scribbled instructions for incoming patients plastered on the window of a silent hospital reception counter. A lone worker in a hazmat suit, steadily spraying disinfectant in an empty hospital hallway.

Such scenes from the height of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan “” moments of fear and desperation as well as unity and resilience “” are etched in the mind of artist Yang Qian.

One year on, she is channeling those memories into artwork to preserve the memory of the central Chinese city's 76-day lockdown that upturned the lives of some 11 million people. In a way, that's an extension of her work as a volunteer delivering vital supplies to hospitals and residents during the traumatic period, while also reflecting the pride many residents take in having weathered the outbreak and draconian measures taken to bring it under control.

"To express what I've seen in a realistic way, this is the responsibility I've given myself. I also hope that much of the history should not be forgotten,“ Yang said.

A painter by trade, she