Virginia Tech Department of English faculty member Derek Mueller’s “Pandemic Bestiary” series, now appearing in the university’s Flex Gallery in the Squires Student Center, has provided a needed lift for many during the COVID-19 pandemic. The collection is also available to view online.
From a turkey working at home on a computer to a unicycle-riding tortoise to a buttered snail lounging on a waffle, Mueller’s whimsical illustrations reflect stages of the pandemic and how people across the country have responded. Each drawing features a focal beast related to a particular pandemic theme, such as the ban on crowded gatherings at sporting events and an expression of gratitude for infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci.
And Mueller has never taken an art class.
In a recent interview, the associate professor of rhetoric and writing explained his process and his motivation for swapping the written word for illustrations to produce this series.
‘For the overall project, ‘Pandemic Bestiary’ took shape throughout April 2020. In terms of process, I worked on an iPad, in an app called Procreate, for an hour or two most evenings,” Mueller said. “You could say there was a dailiness to it, usually one day sketching, another day adding lines, and, finally, a third applying color. Within each drawing, the process changed in small ways; some were more planned and intentional, while others were accidental and unintended, emerging from low-stakes doodling.
“A key part of the process was texting the images to my son, Phillip, and my daughter, Isabel, every couple of days, as each drawing was finished,” Mueller said. “But that’s less a quality of the creative process and more a quality of the communicative process (as if they were separable). Beyond “Pandemic Bestiary,” I found my way to other projects and continued the practice, drawing several of the figures in swimming pools, and then shifting to a series of figures drawn with and without masks. Altogether, I think there were just over 100 drawings last year.
In discussing the inspiration for the series, the Department of English faculty member said, “They’re imaginative figures, playing on combinations of animal forms, for the most part, and then infused with references from pop culture and the news. Some point more explicitly to the pandemic, which was unfolding all around us, of course, both in the news and in the adaptations to social distancing, mask wearing, and disrupted patterns in everyday life.
“For me, personally, the series has been a rewarding, unexpected digression, a chance to learn something new, and, above all, a heartfelt link to my son and daughter across the 500 miles between Blacksburg and Southeast Michigan,” Mueller said. “Sending the drawings every couple of days allowed us to check in in a way that exceeded what text messages can ordinarily do.”
