We Are Strong
Pandemic Photo courtesy of Dr. Victor Olatoye
Dr. Victor Olatoye’s 2205-pound sculpture Pandemic pays substantial tribute to the essential workers during the horrific wave of deaths and hospitalizations, which occurred in 2020. It is comprised of scrap metal: bronze, copper, iron, and steel. The COVID 19 varmint is depicted as a giant round-bodied, two-legged monster. with somber eyes. The piece speaks to valor in the face of uncertainty.
Doctors, nurses, and medics across the board. Essential workers showed up when others were forced to stay home. Some even provided patient care while enduring their own medical conditions. This required wearing more than one mask, chronic hand washing, protective hazmat suits, and more. Pandemic expresses resilience and determination in the face of the unknown- irrespective of fear.
The isolation of COVID-19 was so profound it was not uncommon to find a patient had died alone. The safety of the medical staff and other patients depended on a limited number of people being in hospitals. This often-unmentioned story was felt within the walls of hospitals all over the world.
Pandemic touches upon all that we recall about COVID-19.
From an aerial perspective, human bodies are casted on top of the sphere. Despite not knowing how to conquer this medical stampede, essential workers everywhere did what they could to maintain the situation. The materials are a metaphor for the impact this disease had on the human body and the toll it took on medical staff and their families. Olatoye’s bronzed figures draw the viewer in and lead them to the responsibilities of the essential workers.
Looking at the work from above, each figure, which is not easily recognized as being any ethnicity, is facing a different direction from all points of the sculpture. All of them are serious about the task at hand. The goal is to get things under control. No one is smiling. While COVID 19 is shackled by a ball and chain, its feet seemed to below its feet suggest a vast trek around the world. And it was true, virtually no country has not felt the impact of COVID-19 in some way.
Olatoye takes a brave look at the catastrophic situation. It is unclear if the fatigued eyes of the virus belong to it or the people who have been infected and affected by it. Either way, the viewer is forced to ask questions. How can we be safe? What is developing in medical research? Who is checking in on those who have made careers out of helping to make people well? How can art help us to answer tough questions? How can it bring us together as we all struggle to remain healthy?
Olatoye’s vivid art will always remind us how valuable essential workers are during world disasters and beyond. I am certain that Pandemic could not have been depicted pointedly using wood, fiber, plaster or any other easily destroyed matter. Metal is tough and so are we.