Time stands still for most of us. It is a sensitive time, we all feel vulnerable and anxious.
During the days prior to the pandemic I was ultra-busy planning a photographic shoot with a large team of people, assistants, stylists, hair and make-up team, prop stylists, set designers etc. and was in-line for a couple of jobs, suddenly everything stopped. The assignments were cancelled and I had to postpone my project two days before the shoot as the risk appeared too great.
I felt numb but I knew that I couldn’t stand around and do nothing, I decided to document today’s existence as lived now by many people. I chose to capture them in their lockdown isolation, effectively imprisoned behind the windows of their homes looking out onto a different desolate world. I advertised my idea via social media and the local press in my home area of West London. The response was enormous. I even got responses from people living outside London expressing interest in taking part. For the past few weeks, every three days or so, I have photographed people in my area in self-isolation at home. People participate so enthusiastically that I feel I am giving them something to look forward to and break the monotony of their current existence.
Once somebody expresses interest to participate we make contact via email and phone to discuss details of the shoot and ideas for clothing as well as to fix a date and time for the set up. I shoot in the evening for the twilight feel, Thursdays are special as I can join with them in our clapping tribute to our precious NHS. I recce their home earlier in the day to get an idea of the setting, angles, etc. I restrict all journeys and times to stay within the Government guidelines. No physical contact is made. They stand at their windows and we communicate through the window with hand signals or by phone. Everything is discussed prior the shoot; the type of masks and wardrobe that can be anything from nightgowns to funky or formal dress worn especially for the photoshoot. My twelve- year old son Finn helps me carry the lighting. We set it up and a few poses later the shoot is over. I also interview each person I photograph in an informal way.
This might only be a mini-project but in my eyes a very important one for posterity. It is helping to keep me sane in these exceptional and disturbing times. At the same time, I find it extremely rewarding. I am enjoying meeting people who, without doubt, I would never ever have met before. They cover the entire spectrum of society and occupations which, in itself, has been a fascination to me. I am also re-learning how to take pictures in a simpler way without a large crew! I have not yet decided what to do with the resulting images but whatever it will be it will provide an intimate insight into the lives of all those who will have taken part during this macabre time.
SERENA AND CHLOE, Lockdown Day 16
How has Covid-19 affected you?
The biggest impact Covid 19 has had on me is through my work. As a photographer in the early stages of my career, I’ve gone from such a fast paced work life to one that’s been completely shut down.
What lessons has Covid-19 taught you so far?
It’s allowed me to relearn the importance of giving myself time to rest and reflect.
Who do you live with?
My mum and my younger sister
What do you miss the most?
Definitely the social side of things, I really took hanging out with my friends for granted. I’ve also had to miss out on travelling for work and holidays during this time which has been a real shame.
Tell me a bit about your current situation
My main priority is keeping myself and everyone around me safe. Staying indoors is a small sacrifice to make for the safety of others, so my main aim is to find new ways of using this time positively and taking care of my mental health.
MALAIKA, Lockdown Day 18
How has Covid-19 affected you?I haven’t been able to see my friends and some of my family. For example, over the Easter holiday, my family and I were supposed to go to Uganda in Africa to see family, but sadly the flight was cancelled. My cousin from France was supposed to come to London for his internship, but that has been postponed.
What lessons has Covid-19 taught you so far?
Covid-19 has taught me to spend more quality time with my family and enjoy the time playing games together.
Who do you live with?
I live with my mum, dad and brother.
What do you miss the most?
I miss seeing friends and family and going outside without staying 2 metres away from everyone.
Tell me a bit about your current situation
Currently, I think our situation is okay because we have a garden to play in and get fresh air. We don’t need to go out of the house, unless for food and supplies. From next week, I will be starting online classes and online music lessons, so that our teachers can check in with us.
CHLOE, Lockdown Day 19
How has Covid-19 affected you and your life?
“The thing that Covid 19 has effected the most for me is my work-home life balance. I work as a performer and designer, so the majority of my work happens in the evening’s. For the first time
in a long time, my evenings are my own again. I lost two months worth of dance work, as well as additional freelance teaching overnight. We’re incredibly lucky that there are petitions to help for self-employed, and fundraisers to help theatres re-open post June 2020. It gives us hope that our careers will continue post-pandemic. In the meantime, the only thing we can do is to create at home, keep in touch with our loved ones and rebalance ourselves.
It’s a strange time, because it feels a lot like we are living in both the past and the future. There’s a real retro feeling to the experience, almost as though we’ve been transported back in time to the eighties. I think this stems from taking time out of the sheer speed 21st century to call up our family and friends, and really listening.
The thing that I miss the most isn’t performing (although that is a close second!), but having non- virtual access to my family. I’ve missed both Mothers Day and Easter and I feel really guilty about that. However, I’m lucky enough to live with a group of friends, and we’re finally able to make time to cook and eat meals together again as our busy schedules no longer clash.
Time has slowed. On the other hand, there’s also something inherently futuristic about our currentsituation. A lot of the news makes me feel as though we’re in a film, or even an episode of ‘Black Mirror’. We’re taking virtual yoga sessions, dance classes, even partying online. Theatre is being streamed online – the ‘live ness’ has been taken out of the ‘live’. The future is online and we are living it.”
JAMAL, Lockdown Day 22
How has Covid-19 affected you and your life?
I am Jamal,
I am Autistic,
I live with my Mum and my cat Romeo,
I cannot go to Sports Club or Mencap,
I miss my Carers Aaron and Lolo, I might see them in May or maybe June I’m not sure.
We’re taking virtual yoga sessions, dance classes, even partying online. Theatre is being streamed online – the ‘live ness’ has been taken out of the ‘live’. The future is online and we are living it.”
KAREN, Lockdown Day 24
How has Covid-19 affected you?
I live with my adult daughter and her dog and our domestic routines have not changed as much as that of others because my daughter continues to work outside the home. However like everybody we have to learn to deal with the increased uncertainty of our future and accept the lack of control we have over our lives.
We miss most the casual tactility and fun of going out and meeting family and friends.
Living with this new virus requires us to come up with a new list of priorities, appreciate the basics, reduce the speed of chasing goals and to lean to assess activities more by their intrinsic value and not so much by their financial reward.
I spend a lot of my time trying to follow the scientific research into Covid19 to learn how life with the virus could shape our future, but am frustrated to find little global approach to the pandemic and few preliminary findings that help on a practical level.
Before Covid19 I would worry about my uncertain future, now everyone has joined me and I don’t feel soalone, because we’re are all in it together.
HANNAH AND ANNABELLA, Lockdown Day 27
HANNAH
How has Covid 19 affected you?
At my stepfather’s funeral in mid March, my stepbrother arrived form LA with flu symptoms. He had the virus, it turned out, Because he was staying with us, we were all very fearful that
the rest of the family would catch it, particularly my 70 year old mother, and my 95 year old grandma. My family is devastated to know that a parent at my daughter’s school caught the virus and died very fast aged 65, tragically leaving 3 young children and his widow behind. His wife had the virus when he died: her mixture of grief with having to combat contagion seems an impossibly cruel situation to be in.
What lesson has Covid 19 taught you so far? I live with my husband and 3 children aged 18,13 and 10. The pandemic has taught us that our family and our health mean everything. That kindness towards strangers is endless. That we have a responsibility to protect hundreds of people around us.
What I miss is being able to hug my wider family, to socialise on the weekend, and have business meetings face to face. I miss working in the same room with my brilliant team. But we have on-boarded a new staff member despite being apart, thanks to technology.
Tell me about your current situation: – My mother is indescribably sad: she has lost her husband, yet she can’t even have a cup of tea with her neighbours. We cannot be together to console her, and probate cannot start, so she’s in complete limbo. My 95 year old grandma was still shopping until Easter, thinking she was invincible because she lives in the countryside. That was tough for my mother to handle. My 18 year old has had his A-levels cancelled. My 13 year old is going stir crazy with only 1 hour exercise a day. I run a public relations business and we are all working from home. It’s harder to manage people from afar, but I’m doing my best to be supportive and keep on the freelancers I employ. Many journalists are WFH too, which means our relationships with them are golden. We are grateful to the BBC and Channel 4 News whose workers are also on the front line. I am so grateful we have the NHS to coordinate care. And that we have each other, we have sunshine, cleaner air and I hear constant birdsong – for the first time! I relax by watching a Sicilian ‘who done it’ series, which takes me away from it all each night. I love being able to drop into neighbours unannounced and have a chat (from 2m away). After all, everyone is ‘at home’ for a change!
ANNABELLA
How has Covid 19 affected you?
It’s stopping me from going outside and being with my friends. It feels like you’re not so much part of a community because you can’t do social things.
It’s made me feel separated from the world.
What lesson has Covid 19 taught you so far?
How lucky we are, and how amazing it is to have technology so we can still socialise with our friends, relatives and teachers. It can get really loud in one place because all my family is always at home!
Tell me about your current situation: – I’m doing school on a website that sets tasks, explains them, and then we hand them in online. On the weekend, we try to go cycling while social distancing, and try to exercise within the guidelines. I’m doing more creative things like drawing and art.
KEVIN MCNALLY AND PHYLLIS LOGAN, Lockdown Day 35
How has Covid-19 affected you and your lives?
Like most people Covid-19 has impacted our lives but we remember to be grateful that unlike many we have space here in our house which we share with our 23 year old son David. We can also do some voice work from a little recording set up I put in the study. I guess the biggest take away from all this is how important human contact is and when it’s restricted it really changes the quality of one’s day to day life.
FINN AND MAX, Lockdown Day 37
MAX
Covid-19, Covid-19
My enemy
You make me not see my friends
I look around and I see people wearing masks
You made this
Are you happy? Or do you need to do more evil stuff ? Some people enjoy the lock down, but I don’t
I study day by day as the population goes down I read as our world changes
I go to high-five someone, but I can’t !
What have you done?
People lying in the hospital beds
Wondering what has happened to our world
My family arguing as the time flies by
All over the world this is happening
I guess I need to face the fact that this is our life for now But Covid-19, I will get REVENGE!!!
TORIN AND CAROL, Lockdown Day 40
We are fortunate to have a decent-sized garden, which keeps us sane and active – digging up the rampant wild garlic and ivy, and planting up cuttings and seeds. We don’t go out much, except to the shops which are in walking distance, and occasional long walks for exercise (in addition to the exercise bike in the summerhouse). The thing we miss most is our grandchildren and other family, though we keep in touch through HouseParty, WhatsApp, emails, phone calls and, yes, letters!
We try to focus on the present- I do have moments when I feel sad but I also know that we and our family are lucky, and that no-one has been ill so far.
BETHAN, Lockdown Day 43
How has Covid 19 affected you?
The biggest impact that Covid 19 has had on my life is that I will be going into work a lot earlier than expected. I am in my final of medical school and sat my final exams in January, expecting to graduate in July. Instead, my year have been graduated early and I am starting work as a doctor in a London hospital this week.
What lesson has Covid 19 taught you so far?
The biggest lesson I will take away from this pandemic is that going out and seeing my friends is what makes me happy. In the future, I will not be turning down a beer garden opportunity ever again!
Who do you live with?
I am currently living with my mum and my two younger sisters -we all have the same dark sense of humour and taste in television, so it’s worked well thus far. Our golden retriever Suki is probably going to have separation anxiety when this is over.
What do you miss the most?
It has been strange not being able to see my boyfriend, who is working as a doctor in Oxford. I can’t imagine what quarantine would be like before mobile phones and the internet – I think that has been a saving grace for so many.
Tell me a bit about your current situation
Overall, living through this pandemic has made me recognise how often I take for granted things which others are struggling without, especially at the moment. l am so privileged to have things such as my health, job security, family and access to a garden. I think it’s easy to forget that sometimes.
KATE, JUDE AND BELLE, Lockdown Day 47
KATE
I’m almost sure I had the virus, in the middle of March for around 2 weeks. I lost my sense of taste and smell and had crippling headaches. I didn’t eat or read or even listen to the radio but just lay in a fug of nausea and headache pills. I’m not sure if this period has taught me a lesson other than it is possible to be locked down without going mad. But I’m lucky, as I have work, a dog to walk and I live with my husband and 2 teens. I am immensely grateful to have a small garden and an outside table.
I miss hugging my friends and long lazy lunches and dinners at each other’s houses. I miss art galleries, cafes, going somewhere else apart from nearly every park in London with the dog.
JUDE
Covid has stopped me taking my a levels and cancelled many of my summer plans, potentially my first term of university too, basically 8 months of my life have been cancelled. I have learnt how structure my days around what I’d like to do, rather then what I ought to do. I’ve also tried to learn to not value myself by how busy I’m being, and to take time doing thing. I’ve been living with my family, which has actually been very good for our relationship, I think it’s the ‘we’re all in this together’ attitude. I miss my social life quite a bit, going out and seeing people. I also feel a bit purposeless.
BELLE
Covid 19 is the strangest thing I’ve ever experienced in my 16 years , but for some reason i’m quite relaxed about it. I’m surrounded by by family which i thought would be more frustrating but we have actually been getting along better then ever . I think one way that it is really effecting me is that i desperately miss my friends , seeing my friends means a lot to me and makes me happier so that has been the hardest thing however due to phones and social media I have been in contact with them 24/7 though it is just not the same as seeing them in real life .
Tell me about your current situation.
The above sums it up. Though currently, at this exact moment, I am lying like a lizard in the coolest spot at home – stuck to a shady bit of wall. trying to avoid the heat.
PENELOPE, Lockdown Day 51
Covid 19 has been such a wake up call for the world and it can be a challenge not to be engulfed by fear but instead to look ahead in hope for the future. I try to limit the amount of news, yet keep informed and paradoxically, have connected more with others and deepened relationships even though I live alone. I am very grateful to live on the river where I do, surrounded by nature, wonderful neighbours and being more still, less rushing about, – has woken me up to the beauty of what is right here. It’s definitely a lesson how nothing can be taken for granted and how precious life is. Like for us all, its tough not seeing those you love but so many ways to connect in the meantime, thank you technology! I’m an actress, writer and freelance in the corporate sector so all are impacted but I have found many opportunities to work on various projects and keep connected with my employers and fantastic agent.
SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR AND RICHARD JONES, Lockdown Day 53
How has Covid 19 affected you?
Covid 19 has affected me many ways but I suppose the most stark is the work. Turns out Richard and I didn’t choose very practical day jobs when there’s a lockdown and you’re not allowed near other people. I miss gigs and at the moment have no work in sight for 2020.
As for what it’s taught me, I think the true answer might be a while in the making but at the same time, the core things of what we value here.. what makes us laugh, what makes us sad, they are all the same. I don’t know that I needed a pandemic to know that I love my ‘normal’ life and being able to see my family and friends.
Richard and I are in lockdown with our 5 kids and it’s as peaceful as you’d imagine. We also have our au pair here who ended up stranded after she got unwell and the flights were cancelled. Jelena has been amazing, but I’m very conscious of giving her her own space and a break from us. There’s no let up for the rest of us. It’s not been easy and there’s been many tears and tantrums but it’s not been terrible either. Same for most families I’d imagine.
It’s hard to put into words what i miss. I’ve thought about it a lot.. it’s not the tangible although of course sunday lunches with loved ones, singing with my band in front of a crowd and making plans have been things I’ve pined for.. I think what I miss most is the usually casual nature of my life. Watching my kids running about outside without worrying they are too close to others, choosing which days I’m free to grab a coffee with someone, making a plan for a date night.. I miss not having to second guess everything and I miss not worrying I’ve stood too close to my mum when I’ve waved at her from the path outside her front door.
Our current situation has been a bit barking. The last two and a half months have been a heady mix of domesticity and discos. We’ve broadcast a little disco party from our home every Friday at 6.30 and even though it’s the maddest thing I’ve ever done (kids and wires everywhere), it’s also kept richard and I sane. He focuses on the technical side and does the filming and sound while I put on my sequins and sing. The kids dance and it gives us all a lift. It’s been special and has made the heaviness of the world’s reality a little easier to bear.
ZEWDI, YABSRA AND EHIOPIA, Lockdown Day 57
Zewdi’s words
Covid 19 has affected me in many ways that I can’t clearly explain, but I am sure everyone is feeling similarly as we are all in it. There’s nothing similar that we have experienced in our lifetime. It has changed everyone’s routines and the ways we do things. I am a bit worried about the children’s education because we are not doing anything near what they would have been doing at their school with their teachers.
I live with my husband, two children and a lodger.
I miss going to church every Sunday and travelling freely.
I believe in God and worship Him. I believe He is almighty, and all He wants from us is to be good to one another and to His creation.
I believe God has His reasoning for everything, but I can’t tell you why He allows suffering and who He picks or how etc…
This must be why they say ‘God works in His mysterious ways.’
I don’t know if I can travel to Ethiopia this Summer.
At the moment we’re all stationed at home, except for my husband, who has to go to work as a bus driver.
TESSA, Lockdown Day 59
How has Covid 19 affected you?
Curtailments and Creations.
Like many, I haven’t been able to see my parents- my mother is in the highly vulnerable category. Nor have I been able to see my friends, though I am an introvert so that isn’t awfully unusual. I’ve gained 6kgs in weight, despite regular HIT videos (where I dress in manga cosplay and live stream on Instagram). I have been able to spend the extra time working on myself however. More introspection, more re-assessing where I am in my life and what I really want out of it. Also I baked a perfect meringue pie from scratch! As well as sorting through my obscure Japanese DVD collection. Re-discovering Weather Woman AND Weather Woman 2 was a treat!
What lesson has Covid 19 taught you so far?
Reinforced something I always remind myself of- humans are fragile and death is inevitable. A thought that I take comfort in as it’s a great leveller.
Who do you live with?
My flat mates. A recently married couple who are having to spend their honeymoon with me. I try to make them the occasional cocktail dressed in a maid uniform to make them feel better about the situation.
What do you miss the most?
Cabaret nights and Underground parties. Meeting new people at my friends’ monthly artist suppers. Modelling. The seaside. Paris and Japan.
Tell me about your current situation.
The above sums it up. Though currently, at this exact moment, I am lying like a lizard in the coolest spot at home – stuck to a shady bit of wall. trying to avoid the heat.
ANGELA, IMOGEN AND MIRANDA, Lockdown Day 64
ANGELA
In April 2019, I booked a holiday to the Philippines ( my mother’s home country) for my daughter Miranda, 15 and myself for April 2020. My 18 year old daughter Imogen was staying because she had to revise for her A- levels. I also booked plane trips to a couple of fabulous islands and then spending Easter with my Philippine family and relations.
Then COVID19 happened and the world changed. All our holiday trips were cancelled. We were naturally gutted.
I run a business in west London – I teach ballet to children and adults in 2 different studios and schools in the area. When our world changed because of SARS-CoV2, I had a few days to work out what to do and set up online Zoom classes.
With no experience in teaching “virtually” online I had to just give it my best shot for my students! To my total surprise the majority of my students returned to class, I also have had new interest from children and adults from other areas of London and around the UK. I am now teaching from the ages of 2.5 to 80 !!! The classes have been a real lifesaver for me during lockdown. Just seeing my students dancing at home puts the biggest smile on my face and inspires me every day, they are such a joy. I think without them my lockdown would have been very different.
I haven’t missed rushing around town all day, I have appreciated the simple things and loved slowing down! I do miss the interaction in the studio with my students. I miss the London night life and culture – restaurants, bars, theatre and my museums. I miss family, friends and travel. But all this will return and I know the next chapter will be just amazing! “Virtual” teaching is now part of my repertoire.
Meditation has helped me a great deal with how to approach life in lockdown and it’s even helped me feel grateful during these difficult times.
This experience has only made me more committed, positive, dedicated and most of all resilient! This time has opened my eyes and given me more opportunities. As I keep telling myself ‘tough times don’t last but tough people do!’
IMOGEN 18 YEARS OLD
After being told we are in lockdown and having my a levels cancelled I knew I would have lots of spare time and was so unsure of how to manage it. At the beginning of lockdown I felt very anxious as I wasn’t sure what I was going to do stuck at home with my mum and little sister. After getting into the routine of lessons on Microsoft teams and constant FaceTimes with my best friend I felt responsible to use this time wisely. For me, this is expressing my creativity. I have been experimenting with different creative materials (what I can find) that I usually wouldn’t try. I want to maintain this as it is fun for me and provides a sense of normality to my day to day routine. Moreover, I’ve had the pleasure of being with my younger sister for 24/7. We have spent most of the time binging Netflix tv shows and bringing back old memories on Disney+.
MIRANDA 15 YEARS OLD
Covid 19 has affected me in many ways, where do I start. I have had to adapt to learning online by logging into my daily lessons for class with my teachers. This hasn’t been easy especially as I have been waking up later than usual and it’s so much harder staying focused at home. I have had to spend a lot of time with my sister and not my friends but it hasn’t been too bad and we have had lots of fun – exploring more of our local parks and dyeing our hair blue and red! One thing that did upset me at the start of this crazy time was my cancelled trip to the Philippines. I had planned this trip with my Mum for a year and I don’t know when I will be able to visit again as I have My GCSEs next year.
FATHER KEVIN, Lockdown Day 70
I live with my wife and two children in a Vicarage which has a large garden. We feel very lucky to have so much space during the lockdown. The children are home schooling and we try to structure our day so we can spend time doing things together too. The church building is at the bottom of our garden. Lockdown began for us with the suspension of public worship and then the closing of the church building. We have been live-streaming Mass from the church building each weekday at noon and on Sundays, something I share with my colleague at our sister church. It means we have to prepare four sermons each week! The hardest thing though has been pastoral work particularly when someone is dying or has died. We try to keep in contact with people as much as possible by phone and email but nothing can replace being physically present with someone when they are in need. It has been amazing to see how neighbours have reacted with such thoughtfulness, care to each other- the support in some places has been truly wonderful – and I hope in this way the pandemic has brought us closer together and helped us to reassess our priorities. I have loved the reduction in pollution and noise in London.
I miss seeing people – family, friends, parishioners- and communal worship with its hymn singing and music.I will miss our church fete this year which is a very happy occasion for the whole community and bumping into people I haven’t seen for a long while. This has been a time for me to learn again spiritually a gratitude and appreciation for so much that is easily taken for granted.
ANN, Lockdown Day 74
We have probably been less seriously affected by the virus than many other people: we are retired, live on our own in a fairly spacious house with a garden, and we have access to good local shops and pleasant riverside walks. Moreover, we are retired academics so we can continue with various aspects of our working lives even under quarantine: we can read, write, and take part, online and by email, in research projects and publishing projects.
We were never fans of the current government, but their handling of this crisis has taught us not to trust them or their advisers, even their medical advisers. On the other hand we have learned that most of our neighbours (including some we had not met before) are sensible and willing to be helpful. The Thursday clapping ritual has been as important for fostering community spirit as for appreciating essential workers.
We miss friends and social contacts of course, and travel, both national and international. We miss theatres, cinemas, restaurants and pubs. While acknowledging that we are in a better position than many, we are naturally anxious about the outcome, both for ourselves (we are over 70) and for others. We want to be able to look back on this very strange time but no-one knows when it will end.
ALICE, Lockdown Day 76
How has Covid 19 affected you?
We have been very lucky and nobody in our house has had the virus.
What lesson has Covid 19 taught you so far?
Where there’s sadness there’s happiness too if you look for it.
Who do you live with?
My mummy and daddy and pets
What do you miss the most?
Seeing my friends and relatives being able to hug them.
Tell me about your current situation.
We have been home since March. Mummy and daddy are lucky and can work at home. I have been busy with school work and our teachers have worked hard to keep things as normal as they can for us. I see my friends on zoom and we play computer games together.
I saw my nana and grandpa from down the garden. It was very nice but strange not to be allowed to give her a hug.
I hope we can go back to school soon. Lockdown has made me appreciate actually being able to see my teachers and friends so much more.
OTTO, Lockdown Day 82
Covid 19 has affected me seeing friends, my schoolwork and fun activities. It’s taught me that everyone needs to stay more hygienic.
My sister, my mum and my dad and two cats
I miss sport, activities and friends the most.
It’s very interesting because it is turning everything into one big puzzle because of how much things have changed and how differently things could have been if this virus hadn’t arrived from China.
NORA, Lockdown Day 87
When the quarantine started I was in London visiting my partner. I’ve been living in between here and Spain for the last five years. The plan was staying here for a week and come back to my country as I needed to do the final tests there of my engineering degree. Because of the lockdown I had to stay here for four months, my university in Spain changed the way they assessed us. From now on till September all the tests are online and we’ve been given the necessary material to do it this way. It’s been very challenging as I had to be far from my closest family and worried about their safety. Nothing major happened to any of my relatives or close friends so I consider myself very fortunate.
Covid has tough me to not anticipate and remain calm in unstable environments, to take day by day things es they come. My partner is an NHS worker so we went through the whole process being very conscious of how the health care system was collapsing and where a situation like this can lead us.
I miss the most my grandma’s food, but that’s regardless of the situation I suppose. Also, having a normal social life where we all feel safe in terms of how to ‘behave’ is something I’d love to experience soon.
KITTY, Lockdown Day 92
My take on this Covid situation is probably like most people’s…
Except that I get regular depressing letters from the Department of Health and Social Security reminding me that ‘I am indentified as someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable and am at risk of severe illness if I catch the virus’. Of course this is exacerbated by my age as well.
However, I never felt fitter or more energetic and take daily walks just to see some life and people in the area. I live alone but have the support of a daughter and a son and his family who live not far away, which is a great comfort.
What I miss most is the freedom and ability to be able to hop on a bus or tube train and go to the British Museum or the National Gallery for instance and then meet friends for a catch up or trip to the cinema. Not to mention holidays – which seem in the distant past!
Who knows when life will return to anything like normal.
I think I have learnt to take each day as it comes and to be less demanding about what I think I need or want to do.
SKYE, Lockdown Day 110
Thinking about the past during Covid 19 has been something very prevelant to me. Dwelling on past mistakes and past moments. Although living with my dad, mum and my brother has taught me what is really important. The terrifying yet very real thought I could lose them at any moment led me to appreciate every moment with them more. Me and my brother didn’t spend much time together before and this turned to bike rides and long endless walks. We confided in each other in a time that seemed so bleak and hopeless, if Covid 19 has taught me anything, it is that life doesn;t last forever and we should treat each moment as if it were our last.
SHEM AND NORA, Lockdown Day 111
SHEM
I believe that this whole pandemic has affected me in a big way as my GCSE exams were cancelled due to the outbreak of Covid 19. This was a major upset as I started to question what my five years of learning was for but hopefully the government will help me and everyone else around me move on from this,
Additionally losing family friends to COVID 19 was a big shock to the whole family.
If I have taken anything away from this whole pandemic it’s that taking care of ourselves and staying healthy is very important as we need to protect ourselves and the people around us.
I live with my family which is my brother, sister, mum and dad.
The people I miss the most is all of my friends at school. Even though I see some of them from time to time it will probably be unlikely that my whole year group will be able to see each other that much.
Right now in my current situation I am doing well, I am focused on getting into College and trying to start work to make sure that I am well prepared when the whole pandemic is over.
NORA
Covid-19 has affected me so badly because that wasn’t what I was expecting in this summer.
I miss my friends in school.
I and my family were all planning to go on holiday to Spain for our first time but everything as now beingcancelled. I will say that it has been very boring at home.
Covid 19 has taught me to keep my hygiene levels up and wash my hands all the time.
I live with my Mum, Dad and two brothers. So yes it is kind of a full house.
I definitely miss going to school and attending church because it is very boring at home.
Well I’m currently feeling really bored and I want to go somewhere really bad.eg: going to my friends’ house, eating out , etc,
ABOUT JULIA FULLERTON-BATTEN
Hyper-realism and cinematic are characteristic descriptions of Julia Fullerton- Batten’s images. They are often set in unexpectedly surreal settings with dramatic lighting, communicating simultaneously both tension and mystery. Since becoming a professional photographer in 2005 she has accomplished 13 major projects Her first was Teenage Stories (2005), a semi-autobiographical narrative portraying the feelings of anxiety and discomfort experienced by a prepubescent girl as she transitions to womanhood. During the project she retroactively explored and connected with her own experiences. More recently, she has taken on socially conscious issues; among others, blindness, modern-day society’s pre-occupation with the ideal figure, women voluntarily engaging in the sex industry, etc
Fullerton-Batten was born in Bremen, Germany and spent most of her childhood in Germany and the USA, before moving to the UK in 1986. After completing her education, she studied photography and assisted professional photographers for five years. She began her professional career with a commercial assignment in 2000 and within a few years began to gain accolades as a fine-art photographer. Early in her career, The National Portrait Gallery in London commissioned her to photograph portraits of sixteen leading people in the UK health service. After exhibiting them for six months they are now held there in permanent collection. Her fine-art work is globally renowned and exhibited. She has won countless awards worldwide,
is frequently portrayed in photographic journals, has published two books, is a Hasselblad Ambassador and a frequent speaker at international workshops and a juror of international competitions. She lives in London and is married with two young boys. [Official Website]
