Hao Le
In making The Creation of Misophobia, I want to reflect on my own experience with germophobia. However, I do not share the same experience with other people who have germophobia where they would feel uncomfortable sharing things with others or having physical touch, etc. In my case, I’m just afraid of germs from unknown objects and my surrounding environment, especially the ones that my mind tells me those objects might have germs. For as long as I could remember, I would wash my hands with soap and water a lot, and later on, after moving to the US, hand sanitizer became an essential part of my life. Thus, this object is iconic to me as someone who experienced symptoms of germophobia, especially after Covid-19 started. I developed a practice of sanitizing my hands every time I touched something, which caused them to be even drier and rougher than usual. My peers' responses were to my expectations, as they immediately mentionedCovid-19 as something associated with the image. However, they also noted the cons of over-sanitary and how harmful it can be to the environment, so I find those adequately relatable to my subject matter .As I did further research, people who live in Western countries tend to develop more allergies due to overconsuming sterile products. Studies also show that infants who grow up in an overly sanitized environment develop a weaker immune system than others. To capture the viewer’s attention, I referred to Michelangelo’s painting The Creation of Adam using similar hands composition and an Art Nouveau frame, as those are iconic artwork and styles. On the other hand, the print title and the appearance of the sanitary bottle are questionable. Hence I hope it can intrigue viewers to think more about the message behind the subject matter and the title.
Source Image:
Art History Student Responses to Hao Le:
By Tawheed Bayaz:
My Icon is Hand Sanitizer. My initial reaction to the Icon was surprising because I never had thought of an object like Hand Sanitizer as an Icon but due to the recent events that has happened and even before then it was an object which was most commonly used around the world. Another association that we have actually had recently with this Icon is in regard to fighting viruses specifically during the unprecedented times of COVID-19 Hand Sanitizers were commonly used throughout the world to prevent the spread of the virus. This Article is very informative as it goes over all the different information about the Icon specifically the effects of it during an unprecedented time such as the surges of COVID-19. The article states that the ideas of Hand Sanitizers were first implemented or began back in 1847 and slowly and gradually started to evolve into better and better versions.
“Hand sanitizers as a preventive measure in COVID-19 pandemic, its characteristics, and harmful effects: a review” by Prajapati Parixit, Desai Heli, Chandarana Chandni.
By Alejandro Ildefonso:
At first, I thought that this was going to be very difficult to do my assignment, but then I realized that there is so much information on hand sanitizer and the huge role it played especially in the last few years. The biggest thing that seems iconic about this is the association of the COVID-19 pandemic. On second look the additional association I have with this icon is being a part of that crowed that went crazy trying to buy hand sanitizer when the pandemic first started. This article talked more about what hand washing and hand sanitizing can do to the environment.
Duane, Brett, Jessica Pilling, Sophie Saget, Paul Ashley, Allan R Pinhas, and Alexandra Lyne. 2022. “Hand Hygiene with Hand Sanitizer Versus Handwashing: What Are the Planetary Health Consequences?” Environmental Science and Pollution Research International. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-18918-4.