Disco under surveillance
The impact of increased tracking and surveillance due to Covid-19 inspired me to paint what seems to be a person freely dancing yet contrasting with the CCTV footage - this painting is about the future and aftermath of Covid-19 and how it will impact our lives universally. Expressing how surveillance is somewhat normalised in society, I represented stage lights as CCTV cameras to illustrate the hidden and forgotten surveillance in our everyday lives.
This painting enabled me to express my anxieties about what the post-Covid world will look like and to question whether the invasion of personal freedoms has gone too far.
A woman
Many people feel isolated in lockdown and therefore vulnerable but this is a painting about spreading body positivity, confidence and empowerment during these tough times. Lockdown provided a great deal of time to explore society’s impact on body image and how it affects mental wellbeing. This painting conveys a women standing tall and proud, embracing her body as it is. As a female artist taking ownership of one’s self-image, I wanted to debunk the male gaze where women are commonly represented as vulnerable or sexualised.
Anya by the window
This painting explores what it means to be a young person during lockdown. At a time of curiosity and need for exploration in our lifetime, the barrier of isolation and being stuck inside can greatly impact one’s mental health. This is manifested by the subject, my sister, longing for a return to her natural rhythm of life.
Life on hold
During Covid 19 our lives were put on hold which I attempted to reveal through the stillness of the subject whilst communicating these feeling of isolation, hopelessness and a sense of feeling lost. This painting is about the abnormality and uncanny feeling of having to strenuously wait for the return of our busy, distracted and once full, lives.
Sunflower London
This painting was inspired by the pre-Covid life that I had taken for granted and that we are all hoping to go back to - the hustle and bustle, the sense of purpose, and our distracted lives. Painting this image of pre-lockdown life enabled me to channel my longing for the return of London’s vibrancy.
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