A disease control arts and crafts studio
Illustrator Tonn Hsu got into the habit of drawing while watching the daily press conference on the pandemic. Much like beer with fried chicken, the pairing has proved a perfect match. Hsu has been closely following the Covid-19 situation since the beginning of the year and says that the pandemic feels almost like something you’d see in a novel or a film.
Keeping an eye on the daily 2 p.m. press conferences and wanting to do some non-project-related drawing in her free time, Hsu found herself frequently sketching the cultured-looking minister of health and welfare. She included a face-mask-wearing coffee mug on his desk, and then designed her sketch to work as a 3D pop-up and added a speech bubble. “The speech bubble was crucial because it let everyone add their own thoughts.” Hsu made copies of the drawing, then cut and folded them into shape to create 3D versions of Minister Chen. She was surprised by the enthusiastic response to the figures when she posted them online and opened “classes” at her “Yi Tonn Covid Prevention Arts and Crafts Studio.”
With online followers clamoring for a second drawing, she set to work again. Reflecting on Digital Minister Audrey Tang’s fondness for videoconferences, Hsu chose to put her face on a screen atop a robot body, playfully portraying her “tall forehead,” hint of a smile and long hair.
Hsu’s third and fourth drawings focused on warnings against travel abroad and on frontline workers. At the end of April, she partnered with the Hahow educational marketplace to create a paper figure of then vice president of the ROC Chen Chien-jen that can be dressed up in the armor of a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre.
This is the first time Hsu has involved herself in a social issue in a professional capacity. She says that she hopes her work reminds people in a gentle way not to be afraid, and that it encourages them to use their skills to give back to society so we can fight this disease together.
Illustrator Tonn Hsu got into the habit of drawing while watching the daily press conference on the pandemic.
Yi Tonn Covid Prevention Arts and Crafts Studio (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)