Isolation
In the project “Isolation” I focus on the issue of isolation and deprivation in times of Covid-19 and the related quarantine.
Through this project, I try to express the atmosphere of insecurity and loneliness during these uncertain times.
The name of the person in the photographs is Tia. She is a student of arts from Canada. She arrived in Prague in February for the study exchange. After a few weeks, the restriction got applied and she got locked in Prague. Within the shooting, I used objects that symbolize a pandemic for me: face masks, gloves, iPhone, foil, disinfectant wipes and Tia’s photos from her home country.
The pandemic is an impulse that triggers some new social and individual processes. It is not yet possible to map the complex web of transformations at all levels and the impact of such structural changes. Therefore, I more-or-less work with observations.
The phenomenon of global quarantine eliminates the functionality illusion of some concepts and models, which were used to determine our existence in recent years. It questions some pre-set social systems and state mechanisms. On the other hand, it creates space for new ones.
The scale and impact of the COVID-19-phenomenon are global, not just territorial.
It exists in the context of each individual, community, states, and continents.
The epidemic can be seen as a message, a kind of karmic code. We should try to decode the code. And I mean we as every individual, but also the entire humanity.
The processing of the current crisis can be transformed into some kind of positive change. However, the process itself may seem extremely traumatic. If we ignore the roots of the problem and deal only with its consequence, the situation may reoccur again in the future.
The pandemic opens up many questions and provides us with atypical perspectives on our world. We will have to face a lot of challenges and, above all, honest self-reflection. The optimal way could be a constructive and critical analysis of our previous strategies. Search for new solutions and being open to overall transformation.
It is an opportunity to rethink our attitudes towards long-standing issues that humanity has not been sufficiently aware of, such as the climate crisis and its impact.
The future lies in dialogue, collaboration and solidarity. It also relies on a deeper awareness of the nature surrounding us, adequate needs, and sincere desires.
Furthermore, we shall also re-arrange and re-assess our current values.
Taja Spasskova
