Gift, by Lili Yuan was created for the 2020 edition of SHINE Mural Festival in St. Pete, Florida.

This is her statement about the work from the SHINE website–

“With millions of gallons of wastewater spilled around Tampa Bay in recent years, I chose to depict an obscured female surrounded by water to convey an implicit narrative that the water and humanity are more tightly coupled than ever. After going through many ideas, I went for a simplified design because the value of water itself is precious enough to resonate. Holding water in hand symbolizes a precious gift from nature as water sustains all life no matter big or small; and the round shape represents nature’s best gift – our mother earth.

Meanwhile, I chose the Chinese idiom “上善若水“, which means “Be like water, as water stays humble while benefiting all”. It shows the importance of water and strikes a chord with humans whom should all be loving nature and preserving our precious water resources.”- Lili Yuan