The 13-19 Art Prize is a nationwide art competition to recognise and celebrate young art talents in Singapore. The non-profit TRCL organisation organises the competition supporting The Business Times Budding Artists Fund.

Elodie said, “I was inspired by the global pandemic that is happening. It’s a big theme in the art industry. It affects and changes all of our lives.”

The digital artwork titled “Our True Heroes” was created as a tribute to the “frontline workers who risk their lives every day to care for those who are infected by the virus,” said Elodie, who won first prize in the contest. 

She added, “Masks and hand sanitisers have become part of our daily lives. My work is a tribute to the medical staff.”

She pointed out, “This piece took me about two months to make. It was my very first digital art piece.“

Passionate about art since the age of 8, the IFS student artist detailed the process of creating her winning piece: “The first thing I did was find inspiration on the internet. Then I created a sketch on my iPad. After I slowly started adding colour, part by part. The first thing I added colour to was the hands and the sanitiser bottle. At last, I finalised the illustration by adding flowers and smaller details to make the illustration cohesive.”

Winning works were exhibited at the inaugural 13-19 Art Prize exhibition in January. They are auctioned, with proceeds going to The Business Times Budding Artists Fund. “My artwork is for the charity TRCL being auctioned at: https://trcl.sg/product/our-true-heroes/. The money from the auction will go to children who can’t afford art classes,” explains Elodie.