SARS No. 5 (mixed media on paper, 30x42) by He Hong Wei

Chinese arist He Hong Wei was scheduled to exhibit Hometown, a series of paintings inspired by the SARS Crisis, at the Oc-Eo Gallery in London, when an earthquake devastated parts of China's Sichuan Province. In response to the tragedy, the artist has decided to sell the paintings and dedicate 100 percent of the proceeds to disaster relief. Peter Quintana of Oc-Eo remarks of the five donated paintings, that they were "painted by He Hong Wei at the time of the Asian SARS Crisis. They have won accolades in Beijing and are of great personal significance to the artist. Together and individually, they are an astonishingly emotional statement of the frailty of humankind faced with natural disaster and loss." Visit Oc-Eo for more details. Visit Alive not Dead for more information on other art-related disaster relief efforts.