When it comes to helping the fight against coronavirus, graffiti artists, like the rest of us, are using sprays. Only these sprays contain paint rather than disinfectant.
Street artists from Los Angeles to Lagos and locations you might never even heard of inbetween – are using their talent to help medics highlight campaign messages. It makes sense, after all, the galleries and shops where they would often display their work are all closed:
Senegal
Take these walls at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar and Senegal’s Faculty of Medicine Hospital next to it, for instance. A group of artists, calling themselves RBS Crew, depict in grafitti all the steps necessary for the public to save themselves and others from picking up the COVID-19 virus. They include disinfecting your hands and using a hanky or an elbow to prevent spreading germs when sneezing.
America
The two male figures on a wall in Los Angeles has all the gear necessary to fight the virus – disinfectant, a face mask and is dressed in combat gear. The artist, who goes by the name of Hijack Art, said that “the fear and call to action of this pandemic” had inspired many artists to head outdoors in a bid to help the authorities crack down on the spread of coronavirus. It also stresse the need for the public to arm themselves with alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
A wrecking ball at a demolition site in Miami near the beach warns sunbathers in no uncertain terms to keep their distance. It’s painted to resemble a coronavirus cell. Just days later the city’s mayor shut the beach for good. Artist Hula described his work as “a perfect symbol of the current chaos and destruction happening right now around the world”.
Spain
A modern-day Mona Lisa wearing a face mask and clutching a smart phone was painted on a wall in Barcelona last month. It sat opposite a prominent Catalan government building. Its creater was Italian urban artist Salvatore Benintende aka “TVBOY”.
Germany
This comical piece of grafitti in Berlin is in reference to the massive stockpiling of toilet roll that has been going on around the globe in recent weeks. It features Gollam from Lord of the Rings holding aloft a toilet room and murmuring “My treasure” to himself.
Brazil
The country’s president Jair Bolsonaro is ridiculed by Brazilian graffiti artist Aira Ocrespo. The piece, completed in the artist’s own studio in Rio de Janeiro shows the president with a clown’s nose, rather than a mask to deter coronavirus.
And finally….
India
The depiction of buddha wearing a mask against the coronavirus is in Mumbai, India. The country has only this week announced a three-day lock-down in an attempt to limit the number of residents becoming infected.
Get in touch
Worried about disinfecting and cleaning your buildings and surfaces as a result of the coronavirus? Then do get in touch with the expert team here at Building Transformation.
