Artist preserves memories of 76-day lockdown in Wuhan

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 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.

“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 felt helpless in the face of an unknown virus ravaging her beloved hometown in January 2020. Fear gripped the city as authorities abruptly shut its residents in their homes and froze transport links Jan. 23.

Her first post-pandemic artwork, “Reception,” grew out of the experience of accompanying a mother and daughter to a hospital in early February. The two had developed COVID19 symptoms after the father died at home from the disease and, desperate, took to social media for help. Yang saw the post and found a hospital willing to accept the pair, but was told that no ambulances were available. The only solution was to bicycle to the hospital, with Yang leading the way.

At the reception desk, she saw instructions for new patients haphazardly taped on its window. Stretched to their limit, hospital staff would point to the window instead of answering questions.

“It made me feel a kind of oppression, a kind of fear,” Yang said. “Everyone, especially the doctors, are spending time only to rescue patients.”

She reproduced the scene in an oil painting, right down to its torn papers and scribbled notices. A second oil painting followed based on a photograph of a worker disinfecting a hospital hallway, rendered in shadowy hues of deep blue and black.

One year on, Wuhan has largely returned to normal. Only the face masks that residents dutifully wear provide a visual reminder of the pandemic’s impact.

An exhibition she organized last year at a gallery she runs brought together 23 artists with 60 pieces of artwork related to the coronavirus.

NG HAN GUAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS Chinese artist Yang Qian uses dots to recreate an aerial view of Wuhan under lockdown at her studio in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province.