In this series of practical trials, I’ve been responding to the emotional affect of isolation and the shock of changes to normality caused by the impact of Covid 19.

‘Corona, covid, contagion…’

‘Normal’

I limited myself to a lockdown discipline of using found materials that came readily to hand, and to referencing words or text that became intensely familiar, imprinted on my mind by the news media. This was in part a personal challenge to try out new methods, and by interpreting meaning, metaphor and feelings via the material qualities of random finds, I aimed to process shock, loss and sadness and to try to make some sense out of crisis.

‘R naught’

‘Graph’

I have found this craft  based method mindful and soothing and it has helped isolation feel almost purposeful: a creative practice in its own right. Outcomes are also taking the form of more abstract, symbolic representations of contagion, vulnerability, frailty and the social impact of health and illness.

Working outdoors brought opportunities to observe and integrate evidence of time passing and to record the earthly ephemerality of weather, light and shadow in the photographs.

‘Co(i)mmunity’

There is so much we don’t understand and have little control over.

I aimed that a contemplative practice, working with my hands, combining text (in this case) and found, organic materials would reveal deeper, more universal or emotionally sensitive insights than those communicated by quantitative data, the clinical aesthetic of medical science, or the superficiality of media soundbites.