Throughout history Art has played as an important tool to document events and reflect the mood of the people and now is no exception. Artists around the world are creating art inspired by Coronavirus and the way it has affected us both on a global and personal level.
Balbusso Twins, Italy
Balbusso Twins Anna and Elena from Italy have created this digital painting titled “SOS” to show gratitude and support to all doctors and health workers engaged in the battle against Covid 19
“Love Italy” is another artwork by Balbusso Twins that shows support to Milan and the whole Italian nation. Follow @Balbusso_Twins to see the art of the award winning Italian artists.
Graziano Panfili, Italy
Graziano Panfili, a photographer from Rome, Italy has created a series of work on Coronavirus titled “Cartoline Dalle Webcams Italiane” or Postcards From the Italian Webcams
“I want my artistic visions to act as a collective memory when all this is over; a documentation that makes man think about the consequences of the actions he carries out every day, from the smallest to the largest, starting from his family to the rest of the community.”- Graziano Panfili
Milan. Postcards From the Italian Webcams 
Rome. Postcards From the Italian Webcams
Ledian Agolli, Albania- Italy
Albanian artist Ledian Agolli based in Sardinia, Italy created the artwork “Love during the time of Colera” using the “fildiferro” wire.
The original title is in Spanish as the reference to “Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel García Márquez. The artwork is inspired by “Gone with the wind” and the timeless message: “Tomorrow is another day”
Visit the artist’s website https://www.ledianagolli.com or @LedianWire to see more of his work.
Hanne Laland, Norway
Norwegian artist Hanne Laland shares her experience and thoughts: “During these times I get a lot of time for my art.
Boredom is the best source for creativity and I have plenty of it now.
These old people I have drawn are my tribute to the old loved ones in our society.
I think we have a lot to learn from them. I admire their wisdom, their tranquility and am sure they hold the most important values after living a long life.”
@HanneLalandART https://www.hannelaland.com
Valentina Brostean, Serbia- Italy
Dreamers in quarantine “Smart working” became a very hot actual subject in the time of the Covid_19 virus. Many people stay safe at home and work online form their home offices. While respecting the rules of social distancing they still can meet online, during the conference calls and stay connected with the digital devices. Beyond the job done, I wanted to present even their nostalgic human side. I am totally convinced all of us dream right now about freedom of moving, travels and places we have visited and seen before the virus hit.
@Brostean_valentina_art www.valentinabrostean.com
Exit Enter, Italy
Exit Enter is a street artist from Firenze who is known for his street art all around Italy. His cartoonish art is light and witty and thought-provoking at the same time.
“Since the quarantine began, many commitments and art projects have been blocked and obviously I have been forced to work indoors. This is how I rediscovered the taste of drawing on paper, especially in my sketchbook. This dramatic situation is influencing my drawings a lot, in the works of these weeks I am reflecting on various aspects of the epidemic, hoping to leave a testimony of what we are going through and what I have witnessed.
Sabine Pigalle, France
Sabine Pigalle prioritises photography and belongs to the sphere of influence of a new generation of artists who navigate at the vague boundaries between reality and fiction.
The central axes of her work question myths and collective memory, as well as focusing on a style of portrait that is offbeat and treated as a representation of archetypes.
She produces transversal works combining paintings and photographs, ancient and contemporary art, figuration and abstraction.
@SabinePigalle www.sabinepigalle.fr
Elisa Colarossi, Italy
“The Roman quarantine” by Elisa Colarossi shows the daily life and routine of the lockdown in Rome through colorful, delicate and relaxing images. Every day brings a new drawing, just like a diary. A reminder that we need warmth and colors, especially during these difficult and strange times. To make the simple activities like doing the laundry or preparing pizza at home special.
Sonu Sultania, India – UAE
We can Overcome…Together.
Just hang in There a little More…
A Quest. During these tough times, all of us are feeling the temptation or the Quest of going out and meeting our friends and living the life we used to few weeks ago . But The need of the hour is as we all know , Social Distancing and staying safe being at home, if we can act accordingly & responsibly , we can surely Win.
A journey across cultures. Living in UAE, we notice that people converge from numerous countries & diverse cultures & become too absorbed with making a living, seldom looking around; missing out on the richness and beauty of opening up, and losing the opportunity to learn about people from other cultures although we live in the same place / city. So its the Time to slow down, take a pause, look around & explore the human and emotional aspects of other cultures around us.
A Voyage. The journey, not the arrival, matters; the voyage, not the landing.” & what matters the most are The People we meet along the way and who become our family during tough times. (dedicated to those who are stranded elsewhere away from their family)
Regina Lafay Bellamy, UK
The UK based collage maker Regina Lafay Bellamy creates playful artwork using vintage images. Follow her Instagram @Rlbellamy_ and her website www.rlbellamy.com to see more of her creative collages.
Alys Paola, France-USA
L.A. based French visual artist Alys Paola has created three works that reflect the current situation. Follow Alys on @Alys.Paola to see more of her work.
Jessica Sebok, Missouri, USA
Jessica Sebok augmented her existing digital portraits by adding a medical mask to them. “These are crazy times. Who knew 2020 would lead to where we are now, hoarding toilet paper and worrying about our immunocompromised elders, friends, and family. As a family we are staying in AS MUCH as possible to do our part. Hang in there everybody” -she wrote on her Instagram account @jessicasebok_portraits
“The virus has not currently infected anyone that I know or anyone in my immediate family but our whole lives have changed and my heart aches for everyone that is suffering right now. My heart hurts for my country and for the whole world. This is the scariest thing I have seen in my life time and it really wakes you up to what a privileged life we live and to not take the people we love and the opportunities we have for granted”
Romy Ravindran, India-UAE
“For the past 2 weeks I was reading horrifying accounts of what was happening at the hospitals. The ordeal has left most doctors and nurses emotionally and physically exhausted. That these healthcare workers may be some of the last faces you see, if you don’t make it.
This photograph I saw in the news, was so moving. The body language says enough. I chose to highlight only certain parts, to suggest the idea of isolation. The isolation of those at home quarantined, the ones who die alone in hospitals or homes, and these health care workers, who need to continue to do this. Many, ive read, are haunted by what they’ve witnessed in these last few weeks. They are also some of the people, putting their lives on the line.”
Pasha Cas, Kazakhstan
We thought this world could never stop.
The world where the money kept rolling, factory smoke kept rising, planes were piercing the airspace and stakes were getting higher each day. The world where only a few pieces remained inhabitable. The world where you could sell or buy anything. Opened, affordable, ready to use. The world devoured by the cult of progress, ignorant to wars, hunger, lack of water, environment pollution and the destruction of nature.
Where is this world now? Trapped inside the closed borders. Divided into autonomous parts by the borders of states, cities and the walls of our houses. Limited in time and space, lacking usual resources, freedoms, medical supplies and hospital beds. Filled with troops in full alert, ready to fight against an invisible enemy.
Is this really happening to me?
Even if you don’t see the danger, you can’t deny it. The exterminators in silver coveralls are already at your door. Contaminated people marked with pins on the map are multiplying and approaching your location. The list of victims is growing every day. The virus doesn’t care whether you acknowledge it. It only cares about replicating itself. And we should care to stop it.
The world has stopped, it adjusts to new restrictions. Though it doesn’t collapse, it becomes more connected instead. We are isolated, but now we can relate to each other more than ever. It depends on each of us how quickly we would return to normal — on me, you and that person on the other side of the globe.
We will change and the world will change.
Now we have this unwanted luxury of isolation. We can stop and reflect. Here is our chance to look at ourselves and understand who we are and where we are heading. It is time to face our fears, accept ourselves and change. We have the power to decide what we should become today to be ready for any challenges of tomorrow.
In dark times, people are capable of many things. Not only good things. So don’t let the virus infect your humanity, intimidate you and keep you in fear. The world has stopped, but when the virus is gone, the impact of human actions will remain.
Follow the art of the Kazakhstani street artistPasha was through his Instagram channel @PashaCas and his website http://pashacas.ru
Nadia Borges , Portugal
“There’s a sense of blur we get from the times we’re currently living. It almost feels unreal. On my second week of self isolation, as I kept thinking about everything over and over, I felt the need to put everything into a canvas. The result was a representation of information, questions and emotions compressed into a visual storytelling: people who are most at risk of getting the virus, the condition of social distancing and the toll it takes on our emotional and mental health, the people who are putting their lives on the line daily for the sake of public health, as well as not to forget the the fact that people who are actually able to self isolate are to be considered lucky.”
Follow @NadiaNorgesArt to see more of Nadia’s work
Mr. Zé, Spain
Urban artist and Mr. Zé has created a series of posters on Coronavirus.
“A few days before the official state of alarm in Spain, I decided to stay at home, take care of myself, my wife and my father who is 80 years old. In that moment I began to think about war and all the work that the artists did during the II Republic and Civil War in Spain and tried to “update” these artworks. In 1 month I have done a lot of posters, gaining attention from people all around Europe and South America. Many send me messages about my work that also got attention of digital and print media who published it. That is amazing, but we are still afraid of Covid19. The Government is fighting against the virus and the economy crisis that we have to face. The populist radical right parties are using this crisis trying to get some votes and fighting against the government. They destroyed all the social resources so now we hace two wars to fight, one against Covid19 and one against the right parties. I try to express some ideas through my art about fighting together, staying at home and taking care of each other… And I think that is what we all need now.”
@MrZeTheCreator mrzethecreator.com
Darwin “Japat” Guevara, Philippines
This artwork reflects that we should not take things for granted up to the smallest gift that the life may offer as the time may come that it might turn it’s back on us.
This piece is a part of fund raising cause for the needs of our frontline heroes organized by the Art Galleries in the Philippines. Follow Darwin on IG @japat0622
Pastel on Sand Paper. 2020
Khaled Al Jaberi, United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi based cartoonist Khaled Al Jaberi is creating a series of illustrations on Covid 19 and the way it has changed the every day life. Follow his channel @KhaledAlJabri to see more of his creative work.
Coronavirus is a catastrophe, especially for those countries with inefficient medical services. But from difficult times we can learn a lot. While quarantined I feel stressed as I am used to an active lifestyle but I transformed this stress to drawing and started drawing 70% more than usual. I feel safe in Aby Dhabi thanks to all the government procedures against Coronavirus- there are a lot of medical precautions and rules and they are trying their best to control this issue.
Laina Briedes, USA
There is an opinion that humanity is the virus and Covid -19 is the vaccine. This artwork by Laina Briedes @WoodWhisper explores the way world’s ecosystems are responding to the virus.
“I think nature’s response to humanity during this pandemic is an incredibly important take away for people to note: humanity and nature are not quite in sync. We have been harming our planet and it took this massive pause for us to see it. I hope that through my art I can help people to notice this.
COVID-19 is horrific and terrifying, but at the same time, it’s also kind of miraculous…it took a pandemic for so many of us to realize that we are all connected– to each other and to NATURE. It feels almost like the world is trying to let us know we need to take a step back. There have been studies done that already show how nature has begun to thrive without all the pollution due to businesses shutting down. As a reaction to this, I used a objects that I felt were symbolic of the pandemic (a facemark and two disposable gloves), and covered them with natural objects I collected. By creating this art, I hope to visually demonstrate how this pandemic is actually helping nature thrive.”
I hope you enjoyed these beautiful and thought provoking artworks, feel free to share and let me know if you would like to be featured as well.
Stay safe, stay home and most importantly – stay INSPIRED❤️
Slava Noor
