One of our team members, Kun, has been locked down in China since January, unable to return to Australia due to the coronavirus outbreak. To keep busy, Kun has turned her hand to calligraphy and painting and we think the result is pretty spectacular! Read more about Kun's coronavirus lockdown experience in China. 

Image: Plum blossom in winter, Kun, 5 Feb 2020. 

The Lunar New Year 2020 is the most unusual one I can remember. Soon after returning home, the news about COVID-19 became overwhelming. It travelled from Wuhan to all parts of China. It completely disrupted everyone's life. Like everyone else, I feel despair. I originally planned to return to Australia on February 7, but due to the epidemic in China, all my work plans were disrupted, and the only thing I could do was stay at home.
To fill the spare time, and to cheer my family up, I began to pick up calligraphy. I have learning calligraphy when I was a kid, I have always felt a deep connection with calligraphy. I liked to do it when I feel down, and during the pandemic, I finished ten-meter long scroll calligraphy. Then I started doing traditional Chinese painting. I like to draw plum blossom and I really appreciate its spirit which represents the adamant spirit. 
I don't know what other people think of art, but art to me is a spiritual force. When I create a painting, it also shapes me. Epidemic provides us with a long vacation. It makes life different but we should believe in the future. The road ahead is always not so easy, sometimes we can not control it, but we could try our best to make life more interesting. Looking forward to seeing everyone again. 

 

我的故事

当时的我已经两年没有回国，异乡漂泊令人疲倦不已。都说乡愁是一棵没有年轮的树，永不老去。所以我依稀记得当时的心情，感受到飞机升空，跨越万水千山带我回家，我一整夜都没能入睡。虽然当时的我远不知即将面对什么。2020年的农历新年是我记事以来最与众不同的一个。回家后不久，关于新冠肺炎的新闻铺天盖地，丛湖北武汉到全国各地。就是这么一种新型的病毒彻底打乱了大家的生活，全国各地封城，原本熙熙攘攘的街头寥若晨星，我也只能看着我从小长大的城市变得毫无生机。和所有人一样，我也曾绝望过。原本计划2月7日回澳的我，因为疫情滞留国内，所有的工作计划瞬时打乱，唯一能做的也只有宅在家里。为了填补闲暇时光，也为了鼓励我自己，我开始拿起毛笔临帖。

因自幼习书法，一直觉得与之有很深的联结，在我不如意的时候总是喜欢写几笔，而在疫情期间，居然也写完了十米长卷。之后又拿起笔画国画。我也喜欢画梅花，因欣赏其凌寒独立的气节。画梅，也是鼓励自己。不知道别人如何看待艺术，但艺术之于我是一种精神力量。我在创作一幅画的同时，艺术也在塑造我。而这段时间其实就像是上帝给的一个悠长假期，它让这个假期不再单调，让我开始相信来日可期。

前路永远迷茫，有时我们无法左右命运的航向，但我们可以选择让航程更有趣一些。我不知道何时能再回到墨尔本，希望届时，草长莺飞，一切如旧。