On March 19, 2020, Nanaimo painter Rod Corraini witnessed what he described as hordes of people leaving Nanaimo North Town Centre with shopping carts full of toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
The bizarre image resonated with him.
The painter went home and promptly drew a picture of a medieval plague doctor absconding with his own personal supply of the essential tissue, which became the inception of his currently displayed series, ‘PD and Hazmat: A Love Story.’ The plague doctor character suddenly became “his mascot to satire” and commentary on early pandemic life.
The painter’s love for all things 1950s, including retro science fiction and “little green men,” is evident in his pop art-inspired series, although he works with a gloomy colour palette and more calamitous tone.
Corraini recalls being the “forager” for his family in the early days of the pandemic, and said he was surprised by the surge of angry people back then.
“I’m a fuzzy old guy… They could’ve just been a little nicer,” he said, recalling an incident that required two metres of space while standing in queue.
The painter’s outlook, however, didn’t remain bleak for long.
His societal views began to shift when he spotted signs around Nanaimo that read “keep calm and carry on’ and ‘love with keep us together,’ and wondered what a call for a brighter future might look like admits chaos.
”And I thought about turning all of this into a love story. Thinking of nice things instead of nasty things,” he said.
Corraini’s 25-piece series of acrylic paintings chronologically tells an “epic story” of two characters who fall in love and “do the things people do when they fall in love” as they attempt to replicate a normal life in a post-apocalyptic world. Among depictions of the couple playing leap frog and exchanging wedding vows with golden gloves, the painter has interspersed his own childhood memories, such as playing on swing sets and shucking oysters at Piper’s Lagoon.
“In a post-apocalyptic world, you just continue on… you have a kid… everybody goes around in special suits, but kids still grow up,” the painter said. “I don’t assume everybody has similar memories, but it’s a memory that I thought this family could enjoy… Although, I’m not sure how good the oysters would be here.”
‘PD and Hazmat: A Love Story’ can be viewed at the Art 10 Gallery at Nanaimo North Town Centre during mall hours until April 30.
READ MORE: Nanaimo painter’s near drowning inspires art exhibition
mandy.moraes@nanaimobulletin.com
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