Artist transforms pandemic waste into art

Gulf Today Report 

Argentine artist Marcelo Toledo is currently working on an exhibition called "Museum of the After,” he is collecting recycled coronavirus waste sent by hospitals, laboratories and random people.

Toledo who usually creates sculptures and jewellery out of metal hopes to create an exhibition exploring the painful impact of the virus with his new project.

He was among the first in Argentina to test positive for coronavirus a year ago, he was hospitalized for eight days with pneumonia. 

Drawings and medical supplies that will be part of the "Museum of the After." Reuters 

The experience left an imprint on his life and triggered a flurry of artworks, from a 14-meter mask with the Argentine flag that he placed on the iconic Obelisk in Buenos Aires to raise awareness about organ donation during the pandemic. 

"I am excited to be able to transform pain into beauty and this exhibition is just that, capturing everything that is happening to us as a society," Toledo said. 

Argentine artist works on an art piece depicting a coronavirus virion. Reuters

The artworks, which will go on show from September in a public space in downtown Buenos Aires.

"It is the first time that I do an exhibition in which I do not have to buy any of the elements," he said. "It will all be enclosed or put in capsules because we should never forget this. So the idea is that everything can be preserved over time."

"The exhibition will tell the story of this ship that went sailing and was stranded after the storm, which is a great metaphor for what is happening to us. This pandemic, it's a great global storm," Toledo added.