For inspiration, I have looked into how other people have documented Covid-19. I am still unsure on where I want my project to go so looking at other work could influence my own.
A photographer from Bristol uses his daily exercise to document people in lockdown. He visits people on his cycling rides and take the portraits from a distance to obey to the social distancing rules. He calls the project the ‘Corona Chronicles’ and he got a lot of response for people to photograph by posting on social media. He hopes his work will be a lifelong reminder of the times we are living through.
Photographer, James Stoner who lives in Plymouth also did a similar thing and used his daily walks to document an empty city centre. He is capturing the ‘quiet world we are experiencing right now’. His images are eerie as it shows the normally busy roads and streets of Plymouth.
A Brighton photographer, focused on the sight of closures and signs about Coronavirus. He says these things ‘don’t really grab the eye but I know we will look back at this time and those sights will bring back the memories we are making now.’
I don’t particularly like these images but I do agree that this is something we will look back on in the future. That has inspired me because I could create work that could be useful for generations in the
Photographer Julia Keil used her time isolating to conduct a completely different project and made a series of self portraits. She said “I felt as if in a dream, living somewhere between the real and surreal with the only guidance being news stories, hearsay and the changes I observed happening around me from day to day.” The free time she had made her pursue creative ideas she had had, and each day she decided on a portrait she would take. This also gave her days structure in lockdown.
I love this idea that she used each day to immerse herself into a new character. I think this could be useful for others in isolation to be inspired to use their time to be creative.
Lucy Davis 