Artist: Tan Zi Xi (MessyMsXi)
Year: 2016
Medium: Hand-painted mural
Location: Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Pod 5
"A Walk in the Park" is a set of 13 murals hand-painted by illustrator Tan Zi Xi (MessyMsxi). The artwork aims to create an oasis within Pod 5 of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, that is uplifting to help take the patients’ minds off their conditions. The artist illustrated a mystical garden filled with whimsical elements by playing with the scale of potted flora and plants. Hidden details of tiny human figures engaging in leisure activities like cycling, swimming in a pod, resting and reading can be spotted amidst the lush and vast mystical gardenscape of whimsical plants.
Through her quirky and uplifting illustrations, the artist hopes to get patients to conjure up an imaginary space where they are free to let their minds wander. The project aims to create an oasis of calm amidst the whimsical landscapes of quirky plants and figurative motifs that adorn the walls, breaking the common association of ICU wards being a sterile and harsh environment, and in turn, recreating a conducive healing environment that would inspire hope and optimism amongst patients and staff.
