Coronavirus life and art
Manila has been on lockdown since March 16, and Filipinos, much like the rest of the world, have been told to wash their hands with soap and stay home. From time to time however food and drinking water needs to be bought, which is what we did a few days ago.
Grocery stores have implemented strict policies such as “no mask, no entry”, and only allow a certain number of people inside. This means long lines in the hot sun.
But the air is fresh and the streets are clear, evidence that it is possible that Manila doesn’t have to be full of pollution and traffic all the time. The price for this was not worth it, but hopefully it is something Filipinos can reflect upon for possible solutions in the near future.
Since the lockdown, I’ve been reading up on the coronavirus and created art after work hours. And I learned a few things. The coronavirus is much like other viruses in that it is made up of the same building blocks: it has a fatty membrane that soap destroys, it has proteins, and it holds genetic code.
I also learned that not only does it most likely come from animals, but that it isn’t the first. In fact more than half of the new viruses that have infected people within the last few decades came from animals.
I learned a lot the past 10 days. But most of all, I was reminded again of how precious life is. And I was also reminded of how precious our environment is, to the point that if we don’t understand it, it can kill us. See the rest of my art, and the coronavirus trivia I learned at my Philippine Wildlife Art project below.