Sean Caulfield, Tim Caulfield and Sue Colberg, “#ThinkAccuracy,” 2020
relief and inkjet on paper, each panel 23" x 23" (works also distributed through social media)
By now, many of us have seen the scarily inaccurate stories circulating on social media about the causes and cures of COVID-19, accounts as viral as the disease itself, and some potentially as deadly.
Mega-dose on vitamins to kill the virus. Use nasal spray to prevent infection. Drink bleach to cleanse the lungs.
“There’s a lot of misinformation, which can lead to real problems,” says Edmonton artist Sean Caulfield, a professor at the University of Alberta. “At the same time, people want information desperately. It’s a challenging part of the whole crisis.”
In an attempt to combat inaccurate and misleading information, Caulfield has teamed up with two other U of A academics – his brother, Timothy, a law professor with expertise in health policy, and Sue Colberg, a design professor – as part of a major research project.
Funded by the federal and provincial governments, Coronavirus Outbreak: Mapping and Countering Misinformation, will see a range of health experts assess how false reports have spread through news coverage, social media and search engines like Google, and then analyze policies and communication strategies to improve the situation.
Caulfield’s contribution is a series of distinctive prints being shared on social media, accompanied by hashtags such as #ThinkAccuracy and #Science-Based.
Some of Caulfield's previous artwork has dealt with the body and the history of anatomical illustration. His images integrate digitally manipulated details of work by Andreas Vesalius, a Renaissance physician and anatomist, with his own whimsical and imaginative imagery. The work maintains emotional tension by evoking the uncomfortable and anxious feelings people often experience when looking at human anatomy.
Sean Caulfield, Timothy Caulfield and Sue Colberg, “#Infodemic,” 2020
relief and inkjet on paper, each panel 23" x 23" (works also distributed through social media)
“When you think about the COVID situation, you have to look at it in terms of empirical lenses, but at the same time, it’s not that simple,” says Caulfield. “We feel emotional about it. There’s all this psychology around it, which impacts our decisions.”
Caulfield hopes his images are compelling enough that curious viewers will follow the hashtag and obtain accurate information about the virus.
“The bigger message that we’re after is this idea of pausing. Not sharing immediately. What is it you’re reading? Where did it come from? Who’s the source? Taking time to pause and think through things.”
Caulfield also plans to produce an artist’s book and will include the images in his 2021 solo exhibition at the Elsie B. Rosefsky Memorial Art Gallery at Binghamton University in upstate New York.
The work is also part of Dyscorpia 2:1, an online group exhibition opening this month that considers intersections between the body and technology, focusing on the impact of COVID-19. It builds on last year’s Dyscorpia: Future Intersections of the Body and Technology, a critically praised show at Edmonton’s Enterprise Square organized by several printmaking instructors at the University of Alberta.
“Successful art offers a provocation to ask questions,” says Caulfield. “It is this asking of questions that can slow us down and foster reflection.” ■
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