Artists At Their Best Under Coronavirus Threat
The world is currently in the terrifying clutches of the deadly pandemic, Coronavirus. The respiratory virus took birth in Wuhan at the end of last year and has currently infected approximately 300,000 people and rising, with 13,000 deaths so far. However, the recovery of over 92,000 people so far, also fills us with hope.
The Coronavirus is a global conversation right now. With thousands of flights cancelled across the world and entire countries on lockdown, one cannot help but feel the end of times is near. However, in all of the gloom and despair, visual artists all across the world are sharing their thoughts on the pandemic and in some cases using the nightmare to fuel creativity. Their lighthearted efforts in bringing a touch of humor in times of such misery and hopelessness are noteworthy. Let’s shed some light on the artistic brilliance we have seen surfacing since the outbreak.
Tommy Fung
Tommy Fung is a Hong Kong based artist, who has kept up a steady stream of artwork on his Instagram, highlighting the Coronavirus issue. His works show altered monuments, monster colds, and huge crowds chasing a single mask. This is a reflection of what the artist can see in Hong Kong right now.
His exaggeration with humor shows that the behavior and reaction we can clearly see among the masses is more surrealist than his artwork. He shows the extent of despair, frustration, and panic among the people, mainly due to the government’s ineffectiveness.
Duyi Han
Duyi Han, a designer, has brought forth a mural he has named “The Saints Wear White”. His mural pays homage to a historic chapel in Hubei, where the epidemic reportedly started. He pays his respect to the medical workers through his art, who are fighting the pandemic, out of which 1700 are infected and six reportedly lost their lives.
He Kun
A Chinese artist’s painting, “Save the Child”, shows an elderly man with a sick child perched on his back and a woman accompanying them. The distressed family is wearing facemasks. The point of the artist is to show how Coronavirus has reduced happy families to a pitiable state.
Matsuyama Miyabi
Matsuyama Miyabi’s artwork “We Call it Free Will” is a blatant representation of the censorship enforced pertaining to the virus. A correspondent of BBC shared that the image references the word “Harmony” over the eyes. The Chinese leader, Hu Jintao, used this catchphrase in an attempt to censor the people about the virus.
Kuang Biao
Kuang Biao is a political cartoonist, who drew the attention of the people on Dr. Li Wenliang, who was the first whistleblower of the deadly Coronavirus. The cartoon image of the doctor wearing a facemask of barbed wires powerfully conveys how the brave doctor’s attempts were thwarted when he tried to warn against the pandemic. Weibo, the social media platform of China, is buzzing with the strong emotions the cartoonist has evoked with the image.
As the virus engulfs more countries and spreads more fear, these artists have to be commended on their efforts to replace fear with inspiration and hope in people’s hearts.