A Picture Of Health

The Assisi Hospice’s St Clare ward was transformed into an art gallery of sorts with the works of Singapore-based artist Eugenia Gajardo. Hashirin Nurin Hashimi discovers the power of art on healing

- Hashirin Nurin Hashimi

EUGENIA GAJARDO WAS LOOKING to volunteer at the Assisi Hospice as a counsellor in March 2017 when she saw how expansive and empty its white walls were. “The walls, in my view, were longing for life, colour and positive energy,” says the Chilean-born, Singapore-based artist, who is also a psychotherapist. That year, the palliative care provider had just moved into its new premises, right next to its previous location at the Mount Alvernia Hospital in Thomson Road.

It was not until July last year that Eugenia turned thought into action when a friend, who was a member of the Assisi Hospice fundraising committee, requested for her to donate a painting to be auctioned off at its annual fundraising gala. Eugenia was moved to do more: “At that moment, I knew that I had to dress all the walls of the St Clare ward, and so I did.” The mostly self-taught artist got to work and, in about six weeks, produced more than 20 paintings. The series of artworks raised $20,000 at the charity auction last September, and the entire collection was donated back to the Assisi Hospice, transforming its entire St Clare ward into an art gallery—the first of its kind in a hospice ward in Singapore.