Singaporean art gallery Ode To Art has donated 21 artworks for a charity auction to be held on April 13 at 8pm on Facebook Live. All proceeds from the auction will go toward the Methodist Welfare Services to support low-income families who’ve been impacted by Covid-19.
Bids can be made here and will be accepted until 7:59pm tonight, after which the final auction will be hosted on the gallery’s Facebook page by director Jazz Chong.
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Wu Qiong, 凤中旳童花 Fairy Tales In The Wind
(Image: Ode To Art) -
Tjokorda Bagus Wiratmaja,
My Land For Sale
(Image: Ode To Art)
Some of the lots on offer include several charming fiber glass sculptures from Wu Qiong — which depict a maiden perched on a resplendent deer and a hand-holding couple on the back of a rhinoceros — and pieces from Spanish artist Eva Armisen in her recognisable child-like style.
There’s also a piece from cult-fave French artist Patrick Rubinstein, famed for his ‘kinetic’ paintings that present two different faces depending on which perspective you look at: here, ‘People & Brand (Audrey Hepburn)’ is on offer, with one face of the portrait presenting the actress, and the other showing her visage laden with garish brand imagery.
Other lots include Tjokorda Bagus Wiratmaja’s evocative paintings of a rotund panda in the wild, and of a golden retriever smiling gamely at the viewer.
Founded in 1981, Methodist Welfare Services is a charitable organisation that offers a wide range of services for the underprivileged. They run four nursing homes and numerous senior activity centres and family service centres across Singapore, providing help for the ill, the socially isolated, and those who are in distress.
While most of Singapore has been scrambling to self-isolate and set up remote working arrangements in the past few weeks, less has been said about the plight of the underprivileged.
Many low-income families do not have the luxury of telecommuting. For them, staying at home means having to choose between protecting their family’s health and putting food on the table. And that’s not to mention those who have lost their jobs during the crisis and struggle to find re-employment in a cautious job market.
On the other side of Methodist Welfare Services’ services, they’ve had to suspend operations at their senior activity centres due to the circuit breaker, forcing the charity’s members to personally visit each of their elderly charges’ homes to deliver meals and check on their wellbeing.
For a real-life preview at some of the pieces, you can visit this link to see a video of some of the lots on offer.