VIRUS SNOWFLAKES by Ed Hutchinson
The ‘virus snowflakes’ shown here are a bit of both: they were created with science communication in mind, but I made as many as I did because researching and drawing them turned out to be a very good way to switch off. I wanted to show viruses as paper snowflake decorations because this emphasizes the beauty and regularity of their structures in a way that is accessible to anyone with a pair of scissors and some time on their hands. At a time when viruses can seem unknowable and scary, turning their structures into decorations, and including non-pathogenic viruses, is a reminder that viruses are only another part of the natural world.
In Colour Blind, a painting in gouache on canvas, I depicted how we can lose the color in our lives, replaced by darker shades in our mind. Hence, the brain is in black and grayscale. Near its completion, my poet friend Duke Al was inspired by the artwork, which then featured a completely dark brain, to write a poem on mental health, which I subsequently painted in the brain in the finished piece. The words loop around the structure like the folds of the brain, but are also reminiscent of the uncontrollable nature of mental illness. We wanted the painting and poem to raise awareness of mental health during these lonely moments of isolation. To try and encourage people that if you feel shadowed by mental health, talking to others may help you find each other’s colors again. Hence, the brain is surrounded by color. COLOUR BLIND by Sarah Racaniere, featuring Colour Blind, a poemby Duke Al Durham
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EC Magazines | London-Tucson Edition 2022
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