Wish You Good Health From Covid Holiday Card

This card is dedicated to the Coronavirus and how it can affect people differently. When I took the photo of this plant in mid March 2020, I was attracted to the beautiful flower that comes out of a relatively unremarkable plant. Then when I started painting it in April 2020, I viewed the subject as representative of our circumstances, in that the dark multi-armed cactus with spikes, was like the coronavirus, with its roots spreading out wide in all directions. But the flower for me was symbolic of the amazing human nature that we were seeing in the form of dedicated medical staff, selfless sacrifice of families, the swell of volunteers who helped in the community and the workers who kept the country going. Over time, the cactus reminded me of the tubular structure of the lungs and by the time I wrote the poem we had all learnt a lot more about this disease. The poem sees the cactus as the person, fighting with determination, then you hear the malevolent voice of the virus and finally with firmness our communities show their resolve in getting through and emerging from this illness. The green smudges in the background of the painting depict the presence of the virus in the darkness…unseen but there.