I relished this moment of tranquility, alone. Little did I know, before long most human interactions would be temporarily banned.
I am writing this post as the whole world wrangles with what to do under the most unexpected of circumstances: that of dealing with COVID-19.
Things are changing on a daily basis, and London is edging ever closer to a full lockdown. The last two days have brought better weather and the urge to be outside, moving, and in the (distanced) company of others is magnetic.
A few days ago the atmosphere on the streets reminded me of the movie Bladerunner. It seemed there was a mild distrust in the air, but instead of wondering whether the passers-by were humans or replicants, we were wondering whether they were healthy or if they were infected? Thoughts of the Corona Virus are never far from one’s mind.
On a personal level there is a certain irony with regard to my project 4 x 4 x 4. When I created my first explanatory text for participants, or people on the street who ask what I am doing, it read “I am hoping to create a compelling social-documentary series, pulling out the quirks of the people and places that I find on my way. I want to explore the idea of how all things are intricately connected through a web of history, culture and habit.”
I am offering a space for people to recognise how they are connected, and now COVID-19 has proved that point comprehensively from a biological standpoint. I wonder if it is sinking in psychologically and emotionally, empathetically and in a way that people start to think more as a whole, and not just about themselves. I hope my project will not become redundant if the answers are revealed before I have completed this journey.
This image was taken on my second outing to a place called Netherne on the Hill, and forms part of the project.
I am an avid user of Instagram, and as I find myself with less scheduled events I am scrolling through more than ever. I just want to reference a couple of posts that particularly resonated with me, and offer them here for your reflection:
Extinction Rebellion is an international movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of social collapse:
“Stop, breathe. Adapt a regenerative attitude. Let’s strengthen ourselves, internally, emotionally and physically. In turn we will see that we are all connected, even from afar. The distancing presents us with the opportunity to be closer together than ever. To become aware of the ties that unite us, to admire in all its splendour the radiant light that was always there, covered by the smog curtain of savage capitalism... And to experience the sweet paradox of being able to see better than ever, in isolation, that we are one.”
David Chancellor is a Documentary photographer based in South Africa. As it says on his website and Instagram page “Mapping that jagged and bloody line where man and beast meet”:
“Humans have subsisted on Bushmeat for millennia, and in many parts of Africa it remains a principal source of protein, sometimes the only source. Central Africans for example consume at least two million tons a year. It is not easy to convince somebody whose only alternative is hunger and malnutrition that eating bushmeat can be more of a threat to him than it was to his ancestors. Yet the health-risks are enormous, not just for those who kill and eat them, but also for those who trade in it, and as a result, billions of others throughout the world. Deadly viruses have always threatened humanity, but a virus can travel only as far as the cells it infects. For most of human history, that wasn’t very far. A few hundred years ago, if H.I.V. had passed from an ape to a hunter, that person would have become sick and died. He might even have infected his whole village, killing everyone around him. But that would have been the end of it. There were no motorcycles to carry the infected carcasses of slaughtered apes to markets, and, for that matter, no airplanes to ship them, and those who would trade in them, across the planet. Forests have been impenetrable for thousands of years. In the past few decades, however, new roads have brought economic opportunity to millions of Africans, along with better medicine, clean water, and improved access to education. Yet, seen from the perspective of a virus those roads, combined with air travel, have created another kind of opportunity, transforming humanity into one long chain of easily infected hosts. As David Quammen puts it ‘we disrupt ecosystems, and we shake the viruses loose from their natural hosts’. When that happens, they need a new host. Often we are it.”
So, here we are in a 21st century conundrum. Freedom to travel, advances in technology and medicine have opened up the world in so many positive ways, but as nature proves time and again, where there is a Yin there is also a Yang, and right now that Yang is looking very much like a microscopic viral infection that is enjoying a fast-paced round-the-world-trip.
Turns out there have been empty trains before the Virus: this is heading north back in November 2019. An incidental image, shot on my travels.
Depending on what a full lockdown looks like, I have no idea when I’ll be able to step out with the Hasselblad again. I last went out with the camera ten days ago, which now feels like a lifetime ago. I wanted to capture something of the story of the Corona Virus, and ended up outside a hospital photographing some signs about sanitation. Thankfully, by the time a Security Guard politely told me that there was a strict no-pictures policy as nothing had been sanctioned, I already had all-but-one of the pictures I had visualised since I got there. I am yet to see the results 🤞🏼
We are now living-out our own social experiment, on a scale we never imagined, and who knows where it will lead us. It’s been great to receive emails, and direct messages from some of you about the blog, but what I’d really love is to start a conversation right here on the blog. Let’s get chatting!
Do take care of yourselves in every possible way, and please keep in touch.
Thanks
Amanda x