Mya Zun Pwint Aung

Theme: A Connected Gratitude

High Distinction, School Category, 2025

Artist statement:

My artwork shows how organ donation binds families, connecting them in their shared gratitude. On top shows a deceased woman, who has donated her heart to the young boy shown in the middle. Below are two families, the families of the donor and the recipient respectively. The woman's absence is seen as her spirit sits on that empty chair. To further illustrate the word "connection", blood vessel diagrams became the inspiration behind my work, where arteries are represented by the colour red, veins are represented by the colour blue, and capillaries are represented by the colour purple, the mix of red and blue. Red represents the donor and her family. Blue represents the recipient and his family. These two colours are seen dominantly from their clothes and the wires connected to the heart monitors. Purple represents their connections with each other, just like how capillaries connect arteries and veins. Additionally, on the sides, the backstories of the donor and recipient is seen, different yet similar, because both of them had IV bags at some point but were just strangers who led different lives. Lining those images of their backstories are golden "blood vessels", the colour that represents the sun, because the deceased woman and the heart embody the sun, the source of all life. It is because of her heart that the boy is able to live. With this shared sense of gratitude comes healing and hope, symbolised by the sunrise behind the woman, shown with all the hues of red, blue, purple and gold. The sunrise is a symbol of hope, marking the start of a new day.

About the Artist

Mya Zun Pwint Aung, 16
Springfield Secondary School