Isolation Artist: Art in Response to the Pandemic

I usually respond to visual things, often landscapes.  So responding to my feelings about the pandemic was a very difficult process for me but it was a way of working that I wanted to explore.  After a number of false starts, I opted to create a piece made up of words that expressed my confused feelings.  This work was created using charcoal, an eraser and a scapel, something I've never done in a finished piece before. A lot of things were different.

The blacker section was created by writing the darker and confusing thoughts that were going on in my mind at the time, as I tried to make sense of the situation.  These weren’t clear coherent thoughts and nor were they necessarily logical and so I wrote them in a muddled way. The lighter, more organised section is created with positive thoughts, such as how the community was coming together to support each other, how people and organisations were finding creative ways to keep in touch and to carry on. The more positive thoughts provided hope amongst the darker thoughts.

I was very pleased that this piece of work was included in the Online exhibition Impact which is organised by the Chaiya Art Awards which raised money for two Covid-19 charities. There’s some really interesting and thought provoking work all set in a virtual gallery but unfortunately is no longer available. I have made a short video about how I approached the work which you can view below.

See more of the work I have made in response to the pandemic in my portfolio page 'lockdown series'.