Opening Pandora’s Box is a metaphor for creating endless trouble. Inspired by Pandora, the Pandema’s Box exhibit is the story of how we dealt with the great trouble beginning in 2020, the coronavirus.
In the Greek myth, the gods create the first woman, Pandora, and give her a box with special “gifts” that she must not open. She opens it anyway and out comes endless trouble.
Pandema comes from the mind of Des Moines artist Mollie D Wallace. Wallace assumed there would be just a handful of boxes and that the pandemic would be over by summer 2020. Now two years later, there are more than two dozen. Each deals with a specific story of the pandemic, from hoarding toilet paper to the great mask debate.
Each story is told in miniature, each in a vintage jewelry box, and each created in real time as the pandemic played out.
About the Artist:
WALLACE is a Des Moines native and earned a degree in design and illustration from Pratt Institute. Her work can be seen throughout Des Moines and New Orleans in the form of murals, signs and merchandise branding. Wallace has designed everything from bike helmets and food trucks to guitars and Mardi Gras costumes.