Taipei Cultural Affairs Bureau Director Liao Hsien-hao (廖咸浩) yesterday unveiled the work of a French artist on the walls of the Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital, the first hospital to be quarantined during the SARS outbreak.
The external wall of the Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital was decorated with five huge pictures created by French artist Jacques Bosser, one of the resident artists invited by the Taipei City Cultural Affairs Bureau this summer.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
With NT$1.5 million in funds donated by Uni-President Enterprises Corp, Taipei Cultural Affairs Bureau commissioned the Taipei International Arts Village to invite two prestigious French artists to become resident artists in Taipei, which was also one of a series of projects launched by the bureau through the Art and Business in Taipei (ABIT) organization.
"I believe that SARS did not only leave physical wounds but also psychological wounds. And I also believe that art and culture are the best remedy," Liao said. "I hope Taipei's citizens can alleviate the fear and anxiety aroused by SARS by appreciating the art work on the hospital."
The five pictures feature digital images that are 22.5m in width and 9m in length and feature colorful patterns and warm hues.
"Bosser hopes to comfort sufferers with the energetic theme expressed in his works," said Ping Heng (
Jacques Bosser is a painter and a photographer who specializes in the integration and combination of paintings and photos with colorful, warm hues, Ping said.
Bosser was one of the artists who was not intimidated by the SARS epidemic and was willing to come to Taipei at the invitation of Taipei International Arts Village, Ping said.
"We are so touched by the friendship and that Bosser blessed us with," Ping said.
Bosser said that he was not afraid of SARS because he thought diseases were a part of the human culture.
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