Corona lockdown

Isn’t it weird what the lockdowns and all the corona rules did with us?
I don’t think my experience was very different from all the other people around the world who had to deal with this, and still I felt quite alone with all these emotions.

The first piece I made after corona came into our lives was ‘Corona Crap’. There was that virus out there, and I better be aware of not getting it, because people are dying from it…
We didn’t know enough about it yet to think reasonable: that is the white part of the piece. The grey part stands for a bit more clarity, but also the realization of ‘this is serious stuff’, and the black part shows that the consequences became even worse.

Corona Crap

wall piece
2020
mixed fabrics
h 65 x w 39,5

During the lockdown I felt safe at home. The fences around the garden gained an extra goal: the line between me and the world outside.
We were allowed to go to the supermarket twice a week: the days were connected to the license plate of your car. But I only went once in 10 days or so, and each time I felt in a hurry… grasp my groceries together and rushed home again, to my safe fortress.
Later on, when I got used to the ‘new normal’, I had to laugh about myself, but yes… that was how I dealt with the first weeks of lockdown.

So, the second piece I made was ‘Lockdown’: all the fences and the garden as a buffer, walking on and off in the house, with the virus on a safe distance.

Lockdown

wall piece
2020
mixed fabrics, nails
h 50 x w 40 cm

Getting used to the social distance and mouth caps, and looking at the drawings in which the spread of the virus is caused by aerosols, I made the next piece: ‘Aerosols’. How they hang around you like a big necklace…

Aerosols

wall piece
2020
porcelain, iron wire, organza, cotton, wood
h 69 x w 56 cm

Although I am used to spend a lot of time alone, working, I found it quite hard to deal with a feeling of loneliness, not able to socialize, not being touched. Nothing special… there were millions of people dealing with the same problems.
At the same time, I was happily surprised with the explosion of creativity I watched on internet. Dancers and musicians who made online performances with colleagues from all over the world, people at home who used their creative skills to present them selves as cartoonists, singers, comedians, etc. etc. OMG! If this explosion could last and last… I do hope this won’t vanish at all after we will move on with our ‘normal lives’ again.
This resulted in ‘Corona Creativity’.

The greyish cubes stand for the life before corona: it just went on like it did, everyone in his own square bubble. Corona brought a lot of dark moments in all our lives, but also a lot of creativity!

Corona Creativity

wall piece
2021
stoneware, porcelain, iron wire, linen, beads, strass
h 82 x w 65