When speaking of COVID19, we might fiddle with the thought of a sci-fi flick translating to real life or envision a world reminiscent of a dystopian movie. But artists online are eager to show the face of the virus with the tip of a paint brush.
In fact, hashtags such as #coronart, #covidart, #artinquarantine, and #artathome are widely used and dominate art spaces on Instagram ever since the coronavirus broke the peace. From lowbrow pop surrealism to abstract expressionism, the social media platform is teeming with artworks depicting the pandemic. Hence, the birth of pandemic art.
All the World's a Petri Dish
Strategic designer and illustrator from Berlin, Josephine Rais, gives us a peripheral view of the spread of COVID19, magnified in a single petri dish. The digital artwork is a graphic design goody illustrating the breadth of SARS-CoV-2, a strain of the coronavirus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019, commonly known as COVID19, as it envelops the globe in a deadly spree.
Cov-eid Mubarak
Social distancing was at the core of the Eid celebrations in May earlier this year. But photographer and illustrator, Sarah Addouh, tugged at the funny bone and lightened up the almost bleak, pandemic-laden atmosphere, from her window in Casablanca to the rest of the quarantined world. Besides, it was also an ideal time for benevolence; a dialogue for closeness, so to speak.
Quarantinology
How does the urban landscape look like post-COVID19? Amyth Venkataramaiah, an artist from Bangalore, speculates the aftermath of the COVID19 pandemic in a depiction of emerging urban culture and scenarios. In the artwork below, custom masks and medical equipment embody a contemporary cultural attire.
