People on May 14 at 8:21 p.m. watch the animated video "Remember You Cannot Look at the Sun or Death for Very Long," a new work by British modern artist David Hockney, on the outdoor LED screen at the Seoul COEX's K-pop Square in the city's Samseong-dong neighborhood. (Yoon Hee Young)

A sun symbolizing global hope and cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic has risen in the middle of Seoul.

On May 14 at 8:21 p.m., the outdoor LED screen at the Seoul COEX's K-pop Square in the city’s Samseong-dong neighborhood showed an ad that suddenly stopped to make way for a red sky just before sunrise and a quiet green field. The slowly rising sun above the field emitted yellow sunlight, and the higher the sun rose, the stronger its rays got, covering the world with yellow.

This animated artwork is titled "Remember You Cannot Look at the Sun or Death for Very Long" by renowned British modern artist David Hockney.

He said he was inspired to make his 75-second video after seeing the sunset from his kitchen window in Normandy, France, where he has resided since 2019.

The depiction of the sun with strong rays radiating above a vast field symbolizes the powerful hope and cooperation of countries beginning to be freed from the "great lockdown" of COVID-19.

Hockney said he sought to console people whose lives are limited due to the pandemic with a handwritten message saying, "Time is needed to see the beauty of the world."

In 2018, the Briton became the world's highest-paid living artist after his painting "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" was sold for KRW 101.9 billion at a Christie's auction in New York.

Josef O'Connor, art director of the U.K.-based public art project Circa, took charge of the video’s production.

As a part of the project Circa has promoted since last year, Hockney's video has been released in five world cities on large screens.

British modern artist David Hockney's new video work is shown on the outdoor LED screen of the Seoul COEX's K-Pop Square in the city's Samseong-dong neighborhood and delivers a message of hope and cooperation amid the world's fight against COVID-19. (Barakat Contemporary)

Outdoor screens at London's Piccadilly Lights, New York's Times Square, Los Angeles' Pendry West Hollywood and Tokyo's Shinjuku Square are the other four places showing the video. The Seoul COEX will show it twice a day at 8:21 p.m. through this month.

Art director O'Connor said there’s never been a better time for this "shining image of hope" connecting people across borders and continents to celebrate the arrival of spring.

British modern artist David Hockney is shown with his artworks at his studio in Normandy, France. (Barakat Contemporary)