Lockdown Art
All around us art and creativity have been springing up as we seek to navigate these times. Locally, I've been taken with the Outposted Project which began with one map posted out to creatives in Stroud. They've now opened out to virtual contributions too and this is my submission.
I started with a simple hand pose, one that I'd drawn into my sketchbook sometime ago and felt relevant now in this time of isolation.
Then I put the call out to friends and family from near and far to send me photos of their hands in the same pose. The pose spoke to me of our common experience, being shut away in our homes, some of us on our own, our touch has narrowed, concentrated to the tips of our fingers.
Along with sending their photos in I asked people to tell me what the pose meant to them, if they wanted to. People spoke of pointing the way forward, of finding our way, and of conflicting paths. People spoke about no entry signs, gun signs and signs of the cross.
Others spoke about what lockdown had brought them: togetherness, quality time and love in our homes. Quietness and peace and discovering a different way of being. People saw protection, ritual, comfort, sacrifice, pain and love in the pose. Someone pointed out that, "In relationship addition can mean an increase in richness or a dilution of selves.". Someone else saw "Love and comfort from my own species.", and yet others saw hope.
People interpreted my instructions in their own ways (I love this about collaboration, and art in general!). Some changed the pose to incorporate more family members, others included their pets. I was glad to receive them all. Once I had them, I arranged them into a collage. Then I searched for a map to anchor them too.
I found one from The British dominions year book of 1918, which was of course, the year of a great flu pandemic. It looked at population density and climate of the time and it felt right to link our stories to this echo of our past.
And here is the finished art piece. I love how the ghost of the map shows through with its swirls and arrows becoming part of the artwork. I like zooming in on each little square and seeing the individual pieces of art that have gone in to making the whole. I plan to get it printed onto fabric and displayed as part of a lockdown exhibition. I'll keep you (out)posted!