An Indian artist has created “corona helmets” in his hometown of Chennai to raise awareness about social distancing and the capabilities of COVID-19. Nadu. B Gowtham created his artworks as a way to instil fear in those breaking India’s 21-day lockdown restrictions.
These helmets can now be found across the country, with traffic police in Bengaluru even donning an appropriation of Gowtham’s work.
Police across India are wearing “corona helmets” to promote the importance of social distancing during the country’s ongoing lockdown.
“The purpose of the coronavirus helmet was to warn people who are still coming out and gathering, especially at check-posts on the streets, to create awareness about social distancing and personal protection,” Gowtham told Vice.
Gowtham has even taken the project a step further from its original conception, creating a “coronavirus warrior.” As can be seen above in exhibit a, the warrior (aka a local officer photographed in a local Chennai market) comes complete with a “corona shield” and “corona mace”, made of recycled waste materials. A threatening and unconquerable match for anyone caught standing within 1.5m of each other.
“This time, we exclusively wanted to get to people who continue to come out to market areas. The ‘corona warrior’ is the need of the hour, especially as cases continue to escalate in the country,” Gowtham said about the project. “The coronavirus helmet has now evolved into a coronavirus warrior, to protect the people.”
An officer in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh took it one step further, painting his horse with big viral looking red splotches and then riding around the village. He used to opportunity to inform people about the coronavirus and teach them how to protect themselves.
Check out this video of an officer sharing the message of COVID-19:
