As the world grapples with the pandemic, some graffiti and mural artists have been busy painting some pretty incredible coronavirus-inspired works on walls and buildings across the globe.
Athenian ‘neo-muralist’ Fikos is one such artist.
He blends Greek mythology and Byzantine iconography with graffiti and street art to depict how the pandemic has forced people around the world to put down roots.
Fikos has painted the walls of many cities, including Bangkok, Rabat and Zurich and now he is adding a splash of colour to the Cypriot capital Nicosia.
"Here in Cyprus there are not many murals yet," the artist said.
"It’s the beginning phase of the street art scene in Cyprus, so... they are impressed and kind of awed when they see this happening."
The 33-year-old who describes himself as a ‘neo-muralist’, says he has been living on the Mediterranean island for the past year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a theme reflected in his latest piece.
"Amaracus (Αμάρακος) was a young prince of a Cypriot kingdom and perfumer of goddess Aphrodite. For whatever reason (as in most myths there are several versions) he unfairly got punished by getting transformed into the herb Marjoram," he posted on Instagram.
"This is part of a series of murals in the old city of Nicosia, trying to highlight the cultural heritage of Cyprus, but I guess it can also be viewed as an analogy on the pandemic, where humans grew roots, by staying in one place for so long," he added.
When Fikos was 13, he started studying Byzantine painting under the guidance of George Kordis, with whom he would collaborate with for 5 years, painting murals in Orthodox churches, while simultaneously developing his own personal artistic style.
"I’m mostly inspired by Greek mythology, because I trust that if these myths have survived, they must have something to say."