At the start of the pandemic we were all suddenly forced into lockdown. Isolated and bereft of my usual routines, I retreated to my home studio to channel the angst, fear and frustration we were all experiencing. At the beginning of the quarantine, glued to news outlets, barraged by images of the virus, feeling vulnerable and confused and stuck at home, as an artist my response was to start painting.
Born first of nervous creative energy, my practice evolved over the course of a year and a half to what has become The Pandemic Collection shown here. This body of work — now with over 200 pieces that take their shape from the circles on which they are painted. Circles are round, perfect, and continuous. They have a completeness. Circles offer a container in which to build depictions inspired by beauty, but are at the same time ominously reminiscent of the virus. There are so many relationships. There is no precise edge. No beginning and no end. The circular forms also evoke mandalas which can be used to facilitate meditation and provide sacred space. Using circular forms creates a natural window through which to illuminate our collective state of being. For me, the geometry of circles represents the cosmos. Each sphere allowed me to capture a momentary microcosm of the universe. Some days it was but an atom, a microscopic model for the structures of life, other times it felt more cosmic. I take comfort in the fact that it is said that creating mandalas is said to help stabilize and re-order inner life. I think we could all use a little more of constancy right now as we witness the Covid’s daily threat to life as we knew it.
Creating this work is visceral for me. The Pandemic Collection seeks solace in aesthetics–delivers hope and faith through image, form, and color. Its intention is for each painting to bloom in our collective gardens–offering glittering rays of sunshine, the echo of children’s laughter, a burst of flowers to sustain us through these tragic times. Maybe we can survive the sudden news of a colleague, friend or family member attacked by the virus. Art can be a way to funnel grief, channel the loss of friends and loved ones, and of the loss of the world as we knew it. In recent months the world has literally been on fire, and yet, amid all the chaos, there is beauty. There is art. Paintings can glimmer in the distance. They can surprise us out of our torpor. They can mirror hope. Art outlives us and therefore she will continue to tell our story long after this pandemic ends.
As I continue to work on the series, I feel that at this moment in history, we are in profound need of sacred space– a faith that while we may not emerge unscathed from this pandemic, we can at least not be undone by it.