Breathe

Greetings ~


This is my participation in the RSV(Respiratory Syncytial Virus) Awareness Art exhibition, held here in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh as a part of the RSV Awareness Campaign launched by Princess Areeb Al-Saud that will take place in September.

First of all, I didn’t know much about RSV, When I read about it I was both shocked and motivated to take part in this event:

As per unicef.org the birth rate in Saudi Arabia is 19.34 births/1,000 populations (2011 est.). Out of which 37.1% (194,711) babies are born prematurely and 1.4% (2,725) of them die due to RSV-related illnesses every year.

Many of these infant’s deaths are due to the lack of awareness about RSV, because its symptoms can easily be mistaken for a simple cold.

0% parents know about RSV while 100% parents know about Influenza. The truth is RSV causes more deaths as compared to influenza that causes fewer deaths in infants

The idea of this piece is an attempt to portray the feeling that a mother has when her child is in pain, she wishes to even sacrifice herself to ease it. However in reality, in some desperate situations all she can do is wait and pray.

To avoid later stages of this virus and these situations, please, if you have any infants make sure they are checked when they display symptoms of cold. Prevention is better than treatment. I sincerely hope this portrayal of that impossible action helps in the raising awareness.


Many thanks to everyone who organized this gallery, and gave us the chance to help in raising awareness of RSV by Art. I believe in Art's power to make a change.


This artwork will be displayed in the gallery with a much larger size, it took quite a while to finish

Wishing all the children in the world the best of health