Marcelo Toledo usually creates sculptures and jewelry out of metal. Now the Argentine artist is working with a new material: waste from the COVID-19 pandemic (传染病), such as masks, to create an exhibition exploring the painful impact of the virus.
Toledo, who has made jewelry for the musical “Evita” on Broadway and unique pieces for many famous people, was among the first in Argentina to be infected with COVID-19, which left him hospitalized for eight days. The experience had a great effect on his life and led to a series of artworks, including a 14-meter mask with the Argentine flag that he placed on the famous obelisk (方尖纪念碑) in Buenos Aires to raise awareness about organ donation during the pandemic.
For his new exhibition, the “Museum of the After”, Toledo is collecting recycled waste from the COVID-19 sent by hospitals, laboratories and strangers, including old medical parts and newspapers about the pandemic.
“I am excited to be able to turn pain into beauty and this exhibition is just recording everything that is happening to us as a society,” said Toledo. The artworks, which will go on show from September in a public space in downtown Buenos Aires, will all be made from waste materials or garbage that people send him. “It is the first time that I have done an exhibition in which I do not have to buy any of the elements,” he said.
In the exhibition there will be a real ship that will symbolically cross a “storm” and recycling islands to raise awareness about the importance of caring for the environment. “The exhibition will tell the story of this ship that went sailing and was stranded (搁浅) by a storm, which is a great metaphor (比喻) for what is happening to us. This pandemic is a great global storm,” said Toledo.
As with the huge mask, which was replicated (复制) in countries such as the United States and Japan, the artist dreams of replicating the new exhibition in other cities around the world.
【小题1】What inspired Toledo to make the 14-meter mask?| A．His fear of the pandemic. | B．His Broadway experiences. |
| C．His hospital stay. | D．His research on organ donation. |
| A．They will be exhibited in hospitals. | B．They are greatly praised by the public. |
| C．They are created by people from all walks of life. | D．They are made out of rubbish about the pandemic. |
| A．Our awareness of environmental protection is improving. |
| B．We should spare no effort to defeat the pandemic. |
| C．We suffer a lot from the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| D．Our irresponsible behavior leads to natural disasters. |
| A．Reproduce his exhibition in other places. | B．Host exhibitions on different themes. |
| C．Make more huge masks to be on display. | D．Collect exhibition elements from around the world. |
