india

Updated: May 04, 2020 21:56 IST

With life at a standstill during the lockdown, artists have been coming up with creations to spread awareness about coronavirus. An artist in Chennai came up with the idea of corona shaped helmets a few weeks ago. Police officers in Chennai wore the helmets to deter people from stepping out of their homes.

Now, he has modified an autorickshaw to look like coronavirus with spikes in its body to spread awareness about the infection. B. Gowtham, the creative artist, says, “When I started to work on the corona helmet and then this auto, the idea was to make the city administrations’s and police’s work easier with attention grabbing art.” He adds, “The auto is the identity of the city so it was my obvious choice as it would send out the message loud and clear.” The Corona auto is being used to spread awareness among the people of Chennai to wear a mask while being out of their houses. The Chennai based artist says, “Even if my initiative can save one life from the deadly virus. I would be very happy.”

The auto is made of 165 discarded plastic bottles. It took six days with the help of six people to make this quirky piece of art. “While making it, we had to be very careful as it had to look aesthetically beautiful as well as technically sound,” says Gowtham.

To make work easy for the administration, the auto is fitted with an audio system to transmit awareness messages about wearing the mask. The 27-year-old artist says, “Wearing masks is a necessary precaution and if people of Chennai don’t abide by the rules, they will be heavily fined. This auto is here to make people aware of the crisis we are facing and how a simple measure such as wearing masks will go a long way in helping save lives.”

The COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder of our dysfunctional relationship with nature. Gowtham adds, “In many ways, corona virus has made us aware that as a human race, we are so tiny and we have always been ruthless to our planet and never really considered it as our home.”

Gowtham feels that if we follow all rules of the nature, do not spit or litter and add less carbon footprint, we will be able to create peace and harmony and co-exist beautifully with nature.