As people plan and prepare for scaled-down Chinese New Year celebrations, thousands of brave Malaysians are still hard at work, battling the Covid-19 pandemic in healthcare facilities nationwide.
It is very likely that many of them will be unable to join their families this year, with the pandemic taking its bitter toll on the country.
Hence, the only right thing for Malaysians to do is to thank these brave heroes for their service, even if this gratitude is shown in a small but sincere gesture.
This was what Jesse-Lyn Low, 25, had in mind when she decided to put her artistic talent to work by painting a portrait of health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
In a video posted on her social media, the digital marketing specialist can be seen working on her art piece in a rather unorthodox manner, as the artwork appears to be upside down.
And at the end of the 37-second long video, she turns the canvas around to reveal the subject of her art piece to be of the director-general’s face.
Her video has since gone viral, with many people astounded by her artistic skills as well as baffled by her choice of painting her subjects upside down.
When contacted by FMT, the Penangite explained that she has been interested in art for a very long time now.
“Art has always been my passion since young. In school, my paintings were often featured in school magazines,” she said.
While undergoing national service, a workshop helped her discover yet another facet of her artistry, that of her ability to paint upside down.
“When I was 21, I participated in a pageant called Miss Astro Chinese International Pageant and performed my first upside-down painting.
“But what was more interesting was that I did it while roller skating!”
According to Low, this upside-down painting method isn’t a gimmick. In fact, there is a scientific reason for it: She is able to accurately draw what she imagines in her mind this way.
This method of hers has also piqued the interest of audiences, who are unable to determine the subject of her paintings until the moment they are turned right side up.
After the pageant ended, she returned to her studies and her career, but as of late, has had a bit of free time to practise her art skills.
And from that free time came the fateful portrait of Noor Hisham.
The painting took between 15 to 20 minutes to complete and when she posted the condensed video of her painting on her social media pages, she was not expecting it to garner so much attention.
Low, who had posted the video on her Twitter page before bed, was not expecting anyone to see it as she had zero followers.
However, things certainly changed the next day, when she noticed that her painting went viral overnight.
“I was amazed at how much attention it got!” she said.
When asked why she chose Noor Hisham as the subject of her painting, she said that she views him to be a selfless and hardworking man who has tirelessly served the country.
“And to that, I want to honour his good work. By painting him, I am also honouring all the frontliners who are sacrificing their time and energy for our country.”
Considering that the chances of Noor Hisham viewing this video himself are quite high, FMT asked Low if she had anything to say to him if he did.
She responded: “I just want to say thank you and I am thankful for all the hard work and sacrifices from the bottom of my heart!”
Noor Hisham aside, the Penangite also has a message to readers and fellow Malaysians, which is to “follow the SOPs and obey the PKP as what the DG said, it’s a crucial time to fight against Covid.”