A graduation artwork titled Prayer has become the unexpected star of the 2025 Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (SCFAI) undergraduate exhibition, drawing massive crowds and sparking fervent discussion on platforms like RedNote.

Created by An Qi, a graduating student from SCFAI, the oil painting depicts a woman in prayer. The figure is rendered in striking primary colors — red, yellow, and blue — wearing headphones and draped in yellow and blue gauze scarves. Most notably, her face is entirely obscured by meticulously painted bubble wrap, reminiscent of common packaging material.

"Inspired by my own experiences, this piece reflects how the constant flow of information stimulates our desires," An Qi told reporters. "We often buy things we don't need, then regret it — a cycle driven by invisible societal pressures." The intentionally "cheap" materials serve to "deconstruct the illusion of a 'refined life'."

"The artist collages classical Madonna imagery with modern consumer symbols: bubble wrap 'shrouding' the face, piled jewelry, and wooden hands in prayer. Cheap materials construct an illusion of 'exquisite refinement', ultimately piercing the bubble of consumerism.

Today, we are trapped by shopping obsessions and body anxieties, just as humanity was once bound by religious dogma. The underlying message resonates far more profoundly, demanding our reflection and empathy."

While the painting was reportedly sold for 280,000 yuan, An Qi confirmed the sale without revealing the final price and expressed a willingness to loan the work for future exhibitions. The painting's viral fame came as a surprise to the artist.

Other standout pieces at the exhibition include a sculpture that, at first glance, resembles a tangled mass of branches but upon closer inspection reveals itself to be composed of one hundred intricately detailed and uniformly styled miniature clay figures.

Another standout is a wood carving so astonishingly faithful in replicating the texture and vivid color of product packaging that it challenges perception, making many viewers initially mistake it for the real thing.

Adding a dimension of vibrant color, the installation by Jian Shanshan, utilized over 300,000 folded sticky notes to construct a large-scale wishing wall, a pillar, and symbolic prayer-like forms. The artist enlisted the help of more than 20 friends and family members, who spent over two months folding the notes — many of which included handwritten personal blessings.