In April 2020 we sent out an art and photography call for people to submit works based on what isolation meant to them and how it made them feel. We also asked for images that reflected or symbolizes what they see from their windows while being stuck in. This could be real or metaphoric.
Now you can enjoy the results of this exhibition through our one of many virtual digital galleries that we will be producing in video format. Winners announced June 1st.
Below you can view each image and any description the contributor has provided.
Mixed media painting
Size: 11” x 8”
Title: Longing for the Quantocks
For me lockdown has meant being able to spend more time to immerse myself in art. How fortunate I feel to have this in my life; bringing fulfilment, wellbeing and release, much needed in these strange and challenging times.
The first picture is reflecting how my world has been turned upside down and sometimes seen from a darker perspective during my social isolation! Collage of two images,
The second one is a view of how the squirrel is coping with lockdown! Collage of 4 images.
The top photo is titled ‘Marigold’ and the bottom photo is titled ‘iris’ For both of these images, I decided to take a mirror, typically an indoor object, outside and experiment with the effects it created when put up near flowers. I really liked the reflections produced, of some of my favourite flowers.
Image above and below. My experience during the covid pandemic situation.
This is a photo of an old working wool museum behind my house. I named it The Same Old View because it has been the same view out my window for 10 years. I was inspired by this because I feel like even though I see it every day, I still wonder how long it has been there for and who and what has been inside.
The artwork shows the view from my window, a train docked at the station which is now semi-abandoned due to the pandemic.
We have time on our hands during COVID-19 so seemed apt to see the passing of time in its literal sense.
This photo has a darker feel to portray emotions that people have felt during this lockdown but the model is spying on the brighter future that is beautiful.
This photo shows what has brought me happiness during this lockdown; nature. I collected these flowers from the opportunity field that you can see in the photo to bring my view inside to bring the ray of light into my room for happiness during this
Untitled 1
OUTSIDE: For this image I wanted to show my view of being stuck inside compared to the outside world, not portrayed metaphorically but physically to show the reality of the situation. However, there is a further meaning to this image of there being a whole world out there that I want to discover and experience for myself not watch in movies or read about.
TRAPPED:
This time I wanted to show something relatable that everyone is feeling during this pandemic, the feeling of being trapped in and by our own homes. Therefore, the best way I could represent that was through literally looking through glass from my kitchen window and showing you my street, but I underexposed the inside around the window to create that ominous dark atmosphere.
A walk I take at Staple Hill . Now it is closed.
Our friends the dogs who have been abandoned because of people’s fears.
Title: Mask #2 – Print 20x28cm
Inspired by my husband and his dedicated medical colleagues.
Images above and below: “Sanctuary”
Throughout the ‘lockdown’, elements of the garden have symbolised my thoughts of positivity. As the artist, I feel drawn to the “Bigger Picture” of this whole situation, the transformation around the world, hope for the future and some fear but in my garden, I have a sense of feeling safe…of strength, serenity, and sanctuary.
Title: PE with Joe – Medium: Acrylic on paper – Size: 22 X 19cm
Portrait of Joe Wicks on Fancy Dress Friday! I was a dubious attendee of PE with Joe at the start of this lock down but am a complete convert, a positive force for good in strange times he is offering routine to families and individuals that are finding a new normal. I wanted to paint a vibrant happy piece that represents good deeds and inspirational people. Lets keep smiling
(inspired also by Grayson Perry’s art club from Monday night on portraiture)
Untitled 2
Within – A metaphoric broad stroke of positive ideas that appear randomly while having time to think during lock down.
The sky of Portsmouth is starting to sleep. Daylight is showing through, but there is anger rage and fire above us. We are in lockdown as the air we breathe contains very bad things that nobody wants to make contact with. The sad thing is we don’t even know what the ending will bring.
I have gazed through my cameras lens out of my window to capture the night sky of Portsmouth. The brunt orange colours against the grey clouds are very warming. There are still a few people awake but darkness surrounds the rest of us. However, I now feel the air is not so beautiful it has a deadly virus swirling around and landing on whoever it chooses. I don’t feel so great anymore.
Self (Isolation) Portrait // 3 Generations X 2 Exposures
This double exposure photograph of three generations includes me, my daughter, and my grandson.
My daughter gave birth to Hudson at the very beginning of the UK lockdown. I was unable to visit them in the hospital. The photograph was captured in a period of (literal) reflection and introspection. The double exposure technique highlights both the emotional closeness and physical distance we experience during the UK lockdown, due to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The photograph celebrates our relationship and connection with our family, despite the many miles separating us, the restrictions to travel and ultimately social distancing that is required.
Painting size 23 inches x 16 inches. The painting is called “Wondrous green Tree”
The painting has religious tendencies telling a story of calm and innocence. But as we depend on certain natural elements to create our beautiful world, it can change any time without our control. Which is happening to us now Cvoid-19. “As I soak in the bath of evergreen blades scented with the essence of wildflowers, I gaze up at the wondrous greenwood tree. Her voluptuous dress soaking up water from the blue still, the lake, to feed the multicoloured green leaves of her afro hair, making a clear statement of natural beauty.” Ask yourself what will happen when the water runs dry?
18 inches x 22 inches. The painting is called “Powerful and Hallucinogenic”.
For me it represents the inside of my mind looking out. “Nature wraps itself around me in the form of climbing ivy and vibrant flowers. I am not alone I have a brain in my head that represents a window to the world. When I use all or just one of my senses especially my sight, they work together with my brain painting and creating an explosion of mixed and wandering messages. I can choose to taste with my mouth what I have seen or simply shut the window and delete.”
The Running Milkman
Both images above and below are taken from a similar perspective over a couple of days. My aim was to capture a voyeuristic viewpoint of a person doing something ordinary. Voyeurism usually is considered a questionable and somewhat sinister occupation, but is for some in these strange times, the only contact they have with the outside world.
A Little Light Mowing
“Cherry Blossom”
The tree is in our garden. Something I have always wanted to paint but never found the time. During lockdown I’ve been able to stop, breathe, truly take the time to enjoy the beauty of the natural world I love and create art.
‘Boxed In’
A visual exploration of feeling enclosed. Is the figure bending to the pressure of being enclosed? If you take away the box, it would look like it was dancing. This photograph is influenced by Vermeer in the use of Chiaroscuro, Rob Watts’ Balcony Series for the use of the Artists Manikin and Martha Graham’s Lamentation, a dance that explores the tension and confines of grief; using movement constrained by tube of Jersey fabric.
‘Celebrating 60 in the Eyes of Corona’
Peggy celebrated 60 during the Corona Virus lock down in California. Friends and Family joined her in a virtual surprise party. In the UK we were having breakfast and the US they were drinking wine. Various musician friends performed an intimate distant concert. That day I made “Celebrating 60 in the Eyes of Corona”.
Untitled 3
‘Hopem Pole’
Hopem is 7 foot tall. He is made totally from things I had lying around that I couldn’t quite throw away, thinking they might be useful one day: garden canes, chicken wire, plastic tubes, insulating tubes, PVA, tissue paper, fablon, Modroc, my own prints, wool, felt…….. so not environmentally friendly, but things that could have ended up in landfill.
He has the following inscription:
Thanks to those who care and share,
Love to those who feel despair.
Wish that soon the tide may turn,
Hope that, somehow, we will learn.
Title: The New Normal.
My idea for this was the view from my “office” (the spare room), looking out towards Jellalabad Keep.
I see, in the future, less random social interaction as “The New Normal”, even after the “lockdown” ends. The window forms part of our future view, as will virtual interaction instead of person to person. As I am in lockdown, it was done entirely with items I had available.
“The future is not depressing. It just is. Make the best of it”.
It’s back to the beginning for my art , discovering drawing once more, pencil and paper. Attached, my striding angel, going forward, that’s what I’m thinking of whilst in lockdown…
The first piece is called hope and features balloons. The story behind it is as follows:
Hope: This piece is about hope in this dark and difficult time. It is also about celebrating the lives of those who give us so much to keep us safe, fed, well and help us to function in society. It is also a celebration of those we have lost and each balloon holds a memory for each of us.
The second piece is about Touch. The story behind it is as follows:
Touch: The connections we have missed during the times of social isolation. Each spark represents the touch of another person and the connections we make. Even tough we are not able to be physically near, the spark and connection will still remain. Hope.
Title: Frustration. As my children are on lockdown and given homework that is usually classroom lead I see the frustration in my 11 year old son’s eyes as he fights the written language and subjects he has little interest in.
“Staying In”
Description: “an exploration of the relationship between inside and out, how the crisis has affected my physical and mental inside environment.”
Image above and below: These are both photos taken in Plymouth in different places. One being my bedroom window and the other my work window.
Name: lnspiration
I was inspired to draw this by our amazing NHS staff. She has a look of compassion yet determination in her eyes. I was inspired as they are simply inspirational in every way.
I am a total amateur only picking up a pencil for the first time in many years during this lockdown.
Untitled 4
Title: In the midst of Death we are in Life
Description: A mixed media paper art piece utilising quilling and collage techniques, size A5, exploring the balance between hope and despair. The title turns a well-known quotation on its head, suggesting the heightened vibrancy of life at a time when death seems to be all around. Are the black fingers of death reaching in, or the contrasting bright fingers of life reaching out, as the green shoots of hope make an appearance? How deep do the roots of hope go in these troubled times?
Salvation – With many people looking for salvation during troubled times I see the angels of life scarred by the history of man, yet still holding out to embrace mans foolishness while he demeans and destroys our world.
Lonely Streets – As the streets around the UK become empty the homes of many stand in isolation.
The Demise of Industry – As industry shuts down during lock down we see pollution sucked back into industrial buildings and blueness of sky and water take back what is theirs.