The cathartic and unifying art that is being created in confinement

Artists are now seizing this pandemic-induced opportunity to draw their interpretations of their life as they see it

A growing trend among artists on social media is to dream up the many possibilities of what Amabie looks like. A long-haired, three-legged, scaly Japanese spirit (yokai) with a beak, Amabie is a mythical mermaid-like creature that rises from the sea to foretell abundant harvests or warn of an epidemic. A town official reportedly saw one in 1846, after which news of the creature spread through woodblock-printed bulletins. Amabie, the story goes, told the official, “Show my picture to people for a cure.”

Artists are now seizing this pandemic-induced opportunity to draw their interpretations of Amabie. Using hashtags that range