Zakeera Abu Bakar

Theme: Expression

Merit, School Category, 2022

Artist statement:

The heart featured in this artwork is a failed organ which formerly belonged to someone with heart disease. The stitches, some completely closed and some slightly open, as well as the holes in the heart, represent that it has been damaged beyond repair and cannot be fixed. Some of the holes on the heart form a sad-looking face which is the organ expressing its sadness because it has failed and can no longer function. There is also a price tag located at the top of the heart that says ‘’$0”, which used to be infinity dollars. The infinity dollars represents that this organ when it was still healthy, was priceless and should be treasured. It now says ‘’$0”, because it has been damaged badly and cannot function, making it useless and no longer worth anything. Since the former owner of the heart used to be a very heavy smoker, there are two cigarettes inside two of the holes in the heart which are also emitting cigarette smoke in the shape of a skull which represents the deadliness of the cigarette and its smoke towards the heart. This artwork shows the message of people needing to take care of their organs so that they would not need to have an organ transplant and that people who do such things deserve a second chance and need an organ transplant. I named it “Lost One’s Weeping”, since the previous owner of the heart has “lost” (can no longer have) their heart and they would feel grief and sadness because of it and that the heart can longer carry out its function and is expressing its grief in the artwork.

About the Artist

Zakeera Abu Bakar, 13
Zhenghua Secondary School