Telling the COVID-19 story through visual art

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A masked child with tears rolling down her cheeks and a world stud in chains, embody some of the artworks that visual artistist Rashid Abdhufatah is using to raise awareness on COVID-19, in Kampala.

Abdhulfatah’s murals which stand out on building walls in parts of Kawempe, a suburb of Kampala show a giant pair of hands tied down in one roll of a chain, holding flags of the United States, China, Great Britain, and Italy. The superpowers are some of the countries with the highest number of deaths recorded in recent weeks to COVID-19.

The murals seemingly portray a situation among the world’s superpowers whose health systems were shaken by the novel coronavirus which started in Wuhan, China and swept across all major continents at an exponential rate.

Sadness, agony, confusion and uncertainty are all depicted in the colourful paintings that Abdhulfatah is using to share the COVID-19 story to the world through art. Dressed in a black shirt, spotted with old paint smudges, Abdhufatah says he decided to use art to ‘paint and visualize’ the pandemic and ‘shade a ray of hope for the human race.

“After hearing about the disease and what it is capable of, my thoughts ran to my people in the ghettos of Kawempe. So many of them are not exposed to formal communication. I was worried if I didn’t do anything to tell them what was happening in the world, we would end up dead,” he told URN in an interview.

The paintings on the walls speak more than 1000 words and are clearly communicating to folks in the local community according to one of the area residents. Some of the murals depict the global lockdown situation caused by COVID-19. “When someone looks at this picture, he can tell that all big nations are being chained and brought to their knees.

Many other murals are drawn all over each other. Some carry key messages encouraging people to wash their hands and advising them on what they have to do when coughing or sneezing. He says the message cuts across tribes, communities and all geographical borders akin to the wave brought about by coronavirus.

“It not just Uganda!” He says explaining the story behind a mural showing two Palm’s holding several flags with a chain around them.

“He is painting corona,” one of the boys in the neighborhood highlighted pointing at one of the murals at the wall opposite his home.

Visual arts specialist Nuwa Wamala Nyanzi observes that art is a strong mode of communication and possibly the best for the ghetto people who are often left aside. He explains that visual art is one of the oldest means of communication possibly second to spoken words making reference to the biblical teachings in Exodus chapter 31.

Nyanzi adds that the murals themselves attract attention as they touch the heart to explore human emotions of love, longing and celebration and concern which make it difficult for anyone to pass by without noticing it thus fulfilling its purpose.

Nyanzi himself has also done several illustrations on paper regarding COVID-19. Some are simply transcribing several messages which have been coined by health officials and socialists including the famous “tonsemberera campaign” among others.

He said many of these illustrations are making rounds on social media. The veteran visual artist says that most of the campaigns might not be in one’s mother tough given the multilingual society but illustrations communicate in all languages.

Nyanzi asserts that over time, visual arts may have potential positive benefits in healthcare and have been part of several health campaigns. He adds that in this time of crisis and isolation, the role of visual art and art as a whole is becoming more central to the lives of many.

“Go to the hospital and see. Walls in clinic areas known as programmable spaces. The health experts long ago noticed that visual arts are important in society,” he said reflecting on words of famous Spanish painter Pablo Picasso who argued that art washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life.

Abdhufatah is not the first person to use the brush to add paint on the coronavirus story, several visual artists around the world have taken to the streets to tell the story, communicate, entertain and give hope to others. In Vietnam, Iran, and all over the streets of Dakar, Senegal, artists are using Graffiti to tell the story through powerful images.

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