My theme is ‘Touch Starvation’ as a response to Covid. Due to the virus along with the whole world, I was confined to my home and isolated. My support system was my parents and sister. One day when I went to hug my mother and she refused I understood the importance of a single touch. As social creatures we survive on intimacy and the bonds of society. Our self esteem is often reliant on others and positive contact is necessary for us. The artworks were a form of catharsis and coping mechanism.
While being stuck in the same room for months on end, I gazed at the same view out of the window and thus created my first artwork which is a simple black and white pen illustration inspired by Mario Miranda. Establishing the tone, my second artwork called Frozen displayed the repetition of days and the hopeless feeling of claustrophobic using the color palette and duplication by Andy Warhol.
Progressively getting darker and transitioning to a more somber mood, the 3rd artwork talks about my fear of sleeping alone while isolated. The darkness and fear inspired me to use charcoal to create a diptych. When my father got covid I experienced the horrific reality of hospitals as corpses were being callously thrown into the river without a customary ceremony. The rising death toll and disappearance of bodies inspired my 4th artwork as an installation of hands reaching out. This was my first attempt at 3D art as I used plaster bandages to create realistic sculptures.
As the days went by and frustrations rose in the house, my expression changed during the next artwork that was a watercolor and charcoal painting of my dad's frustrated red eyes that were imprinted in my mind after a conflict.
The final artwork was a challenge as it was my biggest piece inspired by Picasso. The acrylic work displayed the halting of the world outside and the inability to go out through a red traffic light. It shows a ‘Party of One’ as I was going insane alone suspended in time.
The order contributes to the viewers understanding as I placed my works to showcase the journey through covid as was experienced worldwide. I wanted the audience to perceive how with time things changed. Starting mostly with dark mediums of ink and charcoal I depicted the helplessness first felt in the beginning. Introduction of the color blue was due to the inspiration from the Blue period and studying the colour wheel. I learnt to move out of my comfort zone of small monotone artworks and create original artworks that resonated with the audience.
