HÀ NỘI — Hot issues related to corruption were being reflected in a creative new way through drawings, according to Vi Kiến Thành, head of the Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition Department.

The top prizes to create anti-corruption caricatures in a contest launched by the department went to Lê Đức Hùng from Hà Nội and Hà Xuân Nồng and Trần Hải Nam from HCM City.

Thành said the organising board received more than 500 drawings sent by caricaturists nationwide. The jury included painter Thành Chương and caricaturist Lý Trực Dũng, who selected 32 drawings to receive prizes.

“The contest is a response to anti-corruption measures that the Party and State have initiated,” said Thành.

“The entries seem to mostly have come from journalists. They use a mind of a journalist to reflect the urgent problems of society and signs of corruptions that attract public attention. Then they use artistic talents to reflect that issues through humourous caricatures.”

Thành said the contest had been successfull because corruption was a subject that people were concerned about.

Caricaturist Hùng who receives his prize for “Playboy of the 4.0 Generation” said the contest was a fair and meaningful opportunity for artists.

In his painting, Hùng depicts two contrary images; a man carrying a bird cage and a man carrying a box named public funds.

“The rich man mocks the other, thinking it’s silly to enjoy ornamental birds. The trend is ‘playing’ with public money,” said Hùng.

Other caricatures criticise people who try to explain that their huge properties came from selling straw brooms or raising pigs.  

The exhibition will run until December 5 at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, 36 Lý Thường Kiệt Street, Hà Nội. — VNS