Kiss of Life
“We will kiss again” is my version of the Queen’s “We will meet again” message to the world. It is a hopeful message that a day will come that we could not just meet our loved ones, but even kiss them without worrying that we could transfer Covid 19 to them. This is particularly the biggest worry of the NHS frontliners like me because we are constantly exposed to the virus. The title “ Kiss of Life”, is based on the hidden message of the artwork. The artwork is a reimagining of the most popular post-war picture taken in Time square, New York of a navy officer and a nurse. The artwork reversed the genders of the subjects and made the female the kisser and the male, the recepient. I chose the immigrant female nurse to represent the NHS, as they make up a significant percentage of NHS today. The male figure, on the other hand, who carries a red box, represents the UK government and the UK as a whole. The title, “Kiss of Life” is a colloquialism for mouth to mouth resuscitation, and represents how the NHS has revived the whole nation, regardless of the shortage of PPE supplies (represented by the mask held by the nurse with a snapped tie that happens when the masks are reused). It is also a playful image of the UK government being given a thank you kiss by the nurses after given appreciation in the form of pay rise and better benefits in the post-Covid world.