Art teacher Richard Walker was a prisoner of war at Changi during the Japanese occupation when he painted Epiphany – an allegorical artwork depicting a Nativity scene with the Wise Men as Chinese scholars and the Virgin Mary as an Asian woman.

The 1942 painting was given a local flavour and used during holy communion services at the jail to offer hope to prisoners in their darkest hours.

It is among the artworks on display at the Many Beliefs, One Future exhibition, which opened yesterday at Raffles City Shopping Centre.

The exhibition aims to show the connections shared by Singapore’s various faiths and was launched ahead of the International Conference on Cohesive Societies, which opened yesterday evening.