CORONASCOPE

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life and the way we perceive it. The outbreak has highlighted many issues in our societies and reawakened certain narratives—such as our health care systems, the invisible workforce, the notion of a universal basic income (UBI), privacy, and many others.

But it goes beyond that. We are living in an interconnected world in which we cannot abstract ourselves from our surroundings as preindustrial humans could. We have gone about conquering the planet and adapting it to our needs. However, looking at our present reality, with people in protective suits disinfecting our streets, our medium looks as unfriendly as if we failed our inhabiting mission.

As with other major issues like war, poverty, or climate change, this global pandemic is being shown in the media through clichés and in a formulaic manner. Similar to the virulence of a virus, information about COVID-19 is spreading around the globe, leaving its mark in our minds.

The infodemic nature of the virus spread makes it difficult to comprehend and be part of the solution. What lessons do we draw from the outbreak and will they help us foresee future threats to our civilization? Will we be able to react quickly by isolating ourselves or taking other precautions? Does the global media help us understand the state we find ourselves in or does it revert to the same tropes used to report on other issues that we faced before this all-encompassing crisis? 

By using search engine results for the keywords 'coronavirus' and 'COVID-19' and photographing them through a traditional loupe, these questions are invoked, showing the infectious nature of the way we communicate about the global issues of our time.