Italian Land Art Spreads Ebola Awareness

Italian land artist Dario Gambarin uses a tractor to transform fields into oversize drawings of subjects such as Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, Pope Francis, and the World Cup trophy. Now, Gambarin has devoted one of his massive canvases to spreading awareness of the growing Ebola epidemic by carving up a 121,000-square-foot of field in Castagnaro, Italy, to create a 650-foot-long drawing of the Ebola virus.

As reported by the Press Association, the Veronese artist was inspired by the case of a Spanish nursing assistant, Teresa Romero, who became the first person to be infected with the deadly disease outside of West Africa. All other cases, such of that of Thomas Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with the illness on US soil, have been transmitted within Africa. Duncan died yesterday from the disease, and Romero’s condition is said to be worsening.

Gambarin’s efforts are not the first artistic Ebola PSA. As reported by Now I Know, Liberian musicians D-12, Shadow, and Kuzzy of 2 Kings have teamed up on the catchy club anthem “Ebola in Town,” which has apparently led to a “no touching” dance craze in the capital of Monrovia.