In this together?

In this together?

Media: Digital photo-montage and hand drawn illustrations

November 2020

When pondering the question ‘what does being together mean to me’ personally, I found myself with a head full of thoughts some which are positive and some which have caused me concern. Being in the midst of a pandemic has made it challenging for me to think of ‘being together’ prior to the outbreak of Covid-19. Therefore my ideas for this artwork have been in response to my experiences during the pandemic to date.

This was the first time I set out to create a sequence of images that evolved over a month. I originally set out to make one picture each day throughout November but didn’t quite manage. The overall theme of this series was to explore how the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 has revealed both selflessness and selfishness within the UK at this time. This collection of images started out with a single hand drawn illustration and has evolved over time as my thoughts have lead me to consider how the pandemic has taken a grip on our daily lives and affected our behaviour in ways that I have never seen before. Some of the pictures were well planned and others were created spontaneously. 

As we know, some of us have chosen to be respectful of others and distance ourselves from people while others disregard scientific guidance on social distancing and gathered in groups. I feel this has been a year where we have not be ‘in this together’. As we have held on to our loved ones and cherished those in our families, this virus has taken many lives that could potential have been saved had we been ‘all together’ in this and acted responsibly.  

The collection concludes with two bible verses that encourage those who have surrendered to the rule of Christ. This is to give hope to those who know Him that one day He will make all things new.