An Artist and the Coronavirus (March 2020) by Robert John Burton
The opinions I express in my posts are always my own, if you do not agree, move on – nothing to see or harm here. For those who are superstitious, the Chinese Year of the Rat is indeed the forceful purveyor of worldwide change. I do not believe in serendipity, but it creates a segue into this horror we have to endure. China has some extra hard changes to make over lifestyle choices especially around wet markets and the consumption of exotic wildlife for questionable medicinal uses and food. There is no question about this on a couple of grounds. When the World Health Organization (WHO) ignored the compelling data that links illegal wildlife trade to the mortality rates of frontline forest staff and the exploitation of forest-dwelling communities in accepting the practice of Chinese Medicine. They condemned themselves to a quote usually attributed to Albert Einstein: Insanity Is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Times have moved on from needing to consume everything that moves because food was in short supply. The coronavirus is an opportunist virus that changes and jumps between species like bats, snakes, and civet cats. Medicine no longer needs a dried animal part to work; DNA coding is enough. Many Indigenous people eat exotic animals that have always been traditionally eaten. However, conservation concerns requires everyone lives under the knowledge that resources are finite. Tradition should not be a compulsion to never change things. The religious are finding this out. Politicians are finding this out. Chinese medicine is slaughtering endangered species for their needs, some Asian and Indigenous cuisine is also questionable, these facts are not in dispute. A little research in different environmental agencies gives enough facts.
As well, I am old enough to remember the slow and homophobic response of WHO to HIV/AIDS in the 1980s. Many countries were homophobic then. Now, they have to change their attitudes to wild animal use and abuse because there are dangers to eating wild species. Everyone, not just an unfairly targeted group like Gays are victims now. There are many people who think the hunt is a tradition worth keeping. There are many people who are afraid of change. There are many people who will kill anyone to prove a point. This includes horses and greyhounds for gambling. Slowness to accept change has many people like me wondering if the United Nations is a worthwhile organisation anymore. A new paradigm is required. Suddenly, people are discovering the State again as a viable way to organise people and the environments they inhabit. The State nearly disappeared as people dealt with endemic social corruption and turned to various unions and high ideals like the United Nations and the European Union. I think these super collectives have failed us, or more to the point, they have failed to evolve enough to be effective. Not only with this pandemic and also unrestrained illegal immigration are States beginning to assert their power. Human trafficking is also happening, along with corruption. The burgeoning drug trade is another example of this corruption; it is not happening without ordinary people doing the wrong thing. Bureaucracies are growing again for good or bad. The world as we know it now, will definitely not be the same world in six months or a year. Change is not just knocking on the door; change is trampling down everything you think you know. A health crisis has caused a free-market failure. This is a natural disaster that has left everything intact except an economy; the future is either a long recession or a depression.
The challenges ahead need a reaffirmation of why isolationist policies are needed. Perhaps you do not care? Perhaps you believe people get what they deserve, and that Herd Immunity is justifiable? Perhaps you are one of those idiots who think authorities are overreacting to this disease? Consider first the millions, perhaps low billions of people who have compromised immune systems already. Women and children infected with HIV often live in countries that have minimal healthcare systems. Anyone over sixty years anywhere because as one ages the immune system weakens as part of aging. Then there are those with heart disease, diabetes, asthma, motor-neuron diseases, dementia, cancer, lung diseases, and a myriad of conditions that affect younger people too. Do you get pneumonia easily? Are you on the Autism Spectrum because some evidence suggests we have compromised immune systems? Then there are those with drug addiction and alcoholism. Homeless people in cities everywhere and in huge immigration camps caused by wars. The human numbers are huge and if this pandemic becomes more severe because all viruses can mutate then it becomes very serious indeed. Humans have faced dreadful epidemics and survived, but the costs have been lost in a dead history. How many lives are lost into nothing because no one knew them? During the 70s I watched an old man die of meningitis, gasping for air, deep purple spots covering his face and neck. No one to say goodbye. In the 80s I watched as young men shrivelled and died. No one to say goodbye. People are dying of Covid-19 and no family can be present to say goodbye.
Other people can be irritating, horrible self-absorbed entities that makes one wish for the return of the stocks and public guillotining. But, an impressive amount of psychological research underscores the importance of human contact. To a degree of course; I am an Aspie and rather self-sufficient. My experiences with others has left me suspicious of the motives of others. Rejection by others wounds us deeply, and research by neuroscientists reveals that ostracism can lead to feeling actual physical pain. Something I understand. So, now we are to endure in some cases enforced isolation with varying times. Although it has been stated that six months must past before the infection curve is flattened and a year or more before a vaccine can be publicly distributed. Ready are we? Maybe I will do better at self-isolation than others. After a long period of time many may become difficult to live nearby. Alcoholics will drink all day, noisy families will carry on, and then there are those who will ignore restrictions and cause the spread of the disease because they may be carriers not showing symptoms. Mental health and stress crises will grow. I support Western Australia’s new laws on restricting alcohol sales. Already people have reacted by overstocking and hoarding basic food supplies and the infamous toilet paper grab has to go down in history as one of the greatest miscalculations of everyone!
Some businesses will not survive this, even with the help offered by banks and governments. Some small operations and home-based businesses that require daily business, face-to-face contact will fail. Who wants a hands-on service or be near another customer who may be a virus carrier? Can you believe there are escort-massage parlours still working? Already some of the larger supermarkets have removed the tempting cakes and biscuits selection from their counters because there is too much human contact in making these products. The tourism industry has taken a world-wide dive. I notice on television the animals and birds that depend on human scraps are now having to go wild again. Art galleries and cultural events have stopped their programs. Larger companies like airlines and bus services may have to be mothballed for months with some never to open again. Will those huge touring cruise ships ever be financial again? Some businesses that have online services will be alright in the short term, but longer? Stock markets should be suspended for now and clean up the financial mess at a later time because human behaviour is erratic during a crisis. Eventually, when our society rebuilds itself maybe it is time to have a different financial system with more online business and shorter work weeks? Business as usual will not work! The Australian Federation has proven to have some problems in communicating essential information on the virus as the six States, three Internal Territories, and seven External Territories all have their own jurisdictions. Everyone is on a learning curve.
Over the next few months, I intend to exercise and keep safe. I am avoiding big public places. This is not a time to panic. Fortunately, I have a back garden I can escape into. So, there is a garden bed near a shed where I could grow some greens and baby tomatoes. There are potted plants that behave like sick patients at times. The toxic soils left after the floods of 2019 cause die-back, so decent growing soil will need to be brought in. Frankly, it is time to let go of stuff, to downsize, to declutter, to eliminate, to make some space—the sort of space ideas can loom and disappear into. If the external reflects the internal then the world is indeed sick. I remember teaching the journal writing of Anne Frank done over two years hidden away with eight people in a small concealed apartment, which Anne Frank referred to as the Secret Annex. The group lived in constant fear of being discovered and could never go outside; it was intense. They had to remain quiet during daytime in order to avoid detection by the people working in the warehouse below. Anne passed the time, in part, by chronicling her reflections and thoughts in a diary she had received for her thirteenth birthday, just before the group went into hiding. Now, we have a more secret enemy to hide from, but as insidious as the Nazis. Journaling is a great idea for everyone with time on their hands. History is being marked with this virus. Something to think, ponder, and write about. Maybe everyone will be infected, some will survive with mild symptoms, some will suffer badly, and some will die. Eventually we will re-enter a world that is financially broke and where I hope neoliberal policies are buried so deep that no light ever finds them again. Incompetence should not be rewarded with blind loyalty.
My artwork will sustain me, a world of no circumstances. It is in these times what matters is what kind of a human being you are. This virus is being carried by us. We all need to follow the simple rules to distance, to go out rarely, and to not socialise. A time to not to do anything too hard. By doing so the chances of infecting others, especially a vulnerable person is halted. A person like me. I fulfill all criteria of a vulnerable person: over sixty, compromised immune system, on chemotherapy, recent major surgery, past pneumonia sufferer, and damaged lung tissue. Needless to mention, I immunise every flu season and a pox on those antivaxxers who believe in insulting nonsense suggesting my Asperger’s resulted because of childhood vaccines. Sod off! I have survived the best way I can. My ability to use humour, to be resilient, and not be irresponsible will see me through this. I am painting some new works based on the creatures I find wonderful. As well, I have a salmon pink canna which blooms prolifically. A challenging colour to set against the right background. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and art is therefore a personal endeavour. I have a problem with the personal. Always a good second in command, a follower of good causes, I need something to build my art on. Perhaps why I am good at fast portraits and catching the play of light in a landscape. Animals become creatures in bright and playful situations; my mind sees the world differently. They are real things that give me a person with Asperger’s a subject to allow the artwork to flow through me. I do things because like mountains they are there to climb. Perhaps I will see you on the other side when this war is over. Life is a little more complicated these days.
My YouTube channel has new videos most weeks on dealing with aging with Asperger’s: My Art & My Asperger’s or #artfulaspie
I also add videos on my artwork past and present:
the paintings & ceramics of robert john burton:
Art and Architecture in The Tropics: https://youtu.be/E1Xcl0kvZos
50 Works On Paper by Robert John Burton: https://youtu.be/hdq-qprk-cg
55 Works On Paper & 2 sculptures by Robert John Burton:
Salmon Pink Canna 
