stock markets embroidered on face masks question: our health or our wealth?

as the long shadow of COVID-19 touches each and every one of our lives, we are being forced to make some very difficult decisions. to illustrate the ongoing tug of war between lives and livelihoods, huei yin wong has taken some of the world’s top stock markets and embroidered their rapid declines onto the fabric of a face mask. the project essentially asks one question, what is more valuable, our health or our wealth?

FTSE 250

all images courtesy of huei yin wong

from the new york stock exchange (NYSE) to the nikkei 225 index in tokyo, the series highlights the global effect of this pandemic. as people are urged to stay safe at home and many businesses are forced to remain closed, world leaders are faced with difficult decisions to keep populations both safe from the virus and safe from economic turmoil. 

nikkei 225

in this project, titled ‘lives or livelihoods’, huei yin wong puts these questions to the viewer. composed using just simple white face masks and red thread, the images evoke the essential question of life or death. ‘how many lives are we willing to sacrifice for the economy? how many dreams will we ruin to control an infection? what, exactly, is the price of a human life?’ – huei yin wong.

NASDAQ

hang seng

NYSE

project info:

project name: lives and livelihoods

design: huei yin wong