Quarantine is a photography series that I created after a year of experiencing a pandemic. The images I’ve made are based on my observations of how our behaviors changed and how we processed the pandemic during our quarantine. Not being able to photograph anyone for over a year made me resort to self-portraits for this body of work. I created a string of different characters by making drastic changes in my appearance to represent distinct experiences lived by different women. It goes from showing adaptation to a temporary new normal to how the ordinary became different and distant. My intent is to present several emotions and perspectives with the use of masks since they have changed the way we interact and perceive emotions from others. Presenting each subject’s inner battle through the eyes and body language was critical so that the viewer can take in the sentiment of the character along with the ambiance of each photograph. I drew inspiration from a cinematic perspective while adopting a suburbia facade. It allowed me to implement creative uses of color theory for a creative approach to documentary photography.
The early stages of quarantine had everyone in an immediate survival mode. Since I could not document personal changes during quarantine due to day-to-day attention to Covid-19, this became my way of keeping visual documentation.
Self-Isolation
Familiarity
"Have my groceries arrived?"
Unusual protection
"I found sanitizer!"
"Wait, my mask."
Absence of Routine
"How much longer?"
Dressed and prepared. 2021
Happiness is homemade. 2021
New normal. 2021
