Presented here are different artworks that, despite being fundamentally different in execution (collages, illustrations), all re-contextualize the virus in surreal scenarios.
The virus becomes the aura behind Florence Nightingale, who had very progressive ideas in terms of hygiene and public health monitoring besides being a pioneer in information design, or it is a ball to hit/play with, or even the sun, accompanying us through these pandemic summers.
Utilizing the virus as “something else”, as an allegory, my works wish to be funny and thought-provoking at the same time, spanning from a tribute piece for healthcare workers (Nightingale), to a collage born as a reaction to pandemic anxiety (beat it), to pieces illustrating the desire to return to a carefree summertime.
The virus becomes the aura behind Florence Nightingale, who had very progressive ideas in terms of hygiene and public health monitoring besides being a pioneer in information design, or it is a ball to hit/play with, or even the sun, accompanying us through these pandemic summers.
Utilizing the virus as “something else”, as an allegory, my works wish to be funny and thought-provoking at the same time, spanning from a tribute piece for healthcare workers (Nightingale), to a collage born as a reaction to pandemic anxiety (beat it), to pieces illustrating the desire to return to a carefree summertime.
Each piece was created in different moments over the last 2 years, and the sentiment towards the pandemic evolved over time. Generally however, the virus had been omnipresent in the news and creating artwork was a reaction to this, a way to metabolize the present, combat the anxiety and create a tribute to science and healthcare professionals. I therefore found inspiration in the contingent situation and tried to revisit it, elaborate it into something else. From an artistic standpoint, I often look to masters like Magritte and dada artists for inspiration, who revolutionized crystallized interpretations of reality using paradoxical surreal imagery in their installations and cut-ups.
Nightingale: With “Nightingale”, I wanted to make an artwork to celebrate nurses, doctors, researchers and I chose Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) as a symbol for the above. She laid the foundation of professional nursing and would often spread medical knowledge presenting statistical data with graphical aids and explaining it in layman terms. I reflected on the fact that in the anguish characterising these times, many turn to religion, others to science, to find guidance and comfort. I represented her, a woman of science, using the style of religious sacred icons, to conceptually combine the two. In the background the virus, the notorious #flattenthecurve graph and the initial map of the outbreak. Photos from Unsplash.
This piece has been selected to be part of the UNESCO Creative Resilience Exhibition (links in About/Media).
This piece has been selected to be part of the UNESCO Creative Resilience Exhibition (links in About/Media).
In “Beat it” and “Horst” I represented the virus as a ball, which we try to hit away or keep at distance. These 2 artworks reflect different feelings towards the pandemic and isolation, a violent reaction and denial the first, acceptance and the embrace of a “new normal” in the second.
Finally “summertime” is a playful representation of the longing for holidays, or generally situations where we wish to be cheerful and carefree, as small kids are when having baths with ducklings.
Finally “summertime” is a playful representation of the longing for holidays, or generally situations where we wish to be cheerful and carefree, as small kids are when having baths with ducklings.
Beat it
Horst
