Lockdown Drawings

Since being in lockdown, I haven't had access to the printmaking studios but that hasn't stopped me from putting my ideas down on paper, hopefully so I can print them when we get back in September.

I started with an image I had in my mind since the start of the pandemic. I'd recently read something about fungus as an extant form of life (I can't remember where its's from) and for some reason it stuck with me. It's kind of comforting, in a morbid sort of way, to know that we aren't the end of everything. You see a lot of posts nowadays about wildlife returning to the cities. I guess it's the circle of life.

My next drawing I did in direct response to the corona virus outbreak. The sudden surge in the use of masks was a bit freaky and kind of cemented to me that this wasn't just a bad dream. I remember finding it disconcerting not being able to read peoples facial expressions and their emotions. I guess it is kind of similar to the original photo I used. Lots of Edwardian portraits feature people with carefully blank faces. It makes us feel less connected to them. I've just heightened that here.

In my latest drawing, I wanted to play on the newfound fear of getting close to people, even people that we know. It kind of feels like everyone is on fire and you don't want to get too close for fear of catching alight.