I have struggled like everyone with the magnitude of the pandemic-how it has insidiously spread and wreaked havoc around the globe. In March, while the virus began its universal spread, my world in NYC became my apartment. I knew in order to keep safe I wouldn't be able to access my studio, so I brought my camera to my home and constructed a small set next to a window.
I began my days looking at the NY Times and Washington Post online, hoping to find a glimmer of positivity. What I found and became obsessed with were the maps, charts, and headlines, tracking Covid-19’sspread. I screen grabbedand printed them out to see how the disease had multiplied and moved, soon realizing that each of these little visual changes affected millions of people. These charts were highly analytical, leaving out the immensity of the emotional toll of those affected. It became apparent that I had to use them in my photographs, to help me process this devastating experience.
With time, photographs of the vast number of people who had died began to appear in the news. Grids of people’s faces filled the screen; most having passed alone without family or friends beside them. As the virus moved through our country, many of our political leaders refused to acknowledge the dangers that it posed creating devastation and death. The incredible loss and the politics of this period was incorporated into these photographs.
This series began in March 2020 when NYC was the epicenter of the pandemic. It is a reflection of my emotions and thoughts through the past year and a half. By photographing thisdata and images,combined with botanicals, my intent is to speak to the humanity of those affected by this epidemic. Motion in the images was utilized to help convey the chaos and apprehensions we were all experiencing. Once assembled, I now see that these images are a visual diaryof my life with Covid-19; the politics of the time and the way it has affected our everyday lives.