Our eighth post of the series, Artists in the Time of Coronavirus includes Krista Dedrick Lai, Victoria Gallagher, Harlow Figa, Nicole Sica, Sam Whalen, and Casandra Esteve! Thank you for all who submitted! And if you want to participate, send your statement (250 words max) and 2 photos to support@theartblog.org. More details here. Stay safe and stay positive, and come back in the days to come for more “Artists in the Time of Coronavirus.” We have a wonderful community and are so proud of being able to share everyone’s art.
Krista Dedrick Lai
After white knuckling through the first few days of social distancing, and all the fear and change that entailed… my strategy has become: lowering my expectations… of myself, others and especially my young son. Before coronavirus, my solo show had just opened at The Mill, in Wilmington DE, and I was planning a talk and closing reception. Like so many others I have struggled to cope as daily routines have been turned upside down, eagerly anticipated events have been cancelled, and plans have been significantly altered. The unknowns seem to pile up so high they blot out the sun.
I try to remind myself that “the only thing constant is change” and that I’ve adapted before. I’ve begun inviting my son to collaborate with me, recognizing that my work will need to change in this moment when we are almost constantly together. I remember that artists have survived war, famine, disease and more and rejoice in moments of shared humanity: like the videos of the Italians singing from their balconies… or a Zoom virtual happy hour date with friends. I look for the silver linings, like how content my son is having both of his parents so nearby. I am reminded constantly of how human I am… how human we all are. Our future has never been certain. And we have always hung by a thread of interrelated dependency on each other, with little individual control. It is a difficult reality to contemplate and accept.
www.kristadedricklai.com
https://www.instagram.com/krista_dedrick_lai/
Victoria Gallagher
My name is Victoria Gallagher, I am a senior at Moore College of Art & Design. During our senior year, we were given studio space to plan out our senior thesis. It was a bittersweet moment saying goodbye due to the coronavirus.
My senior thesis involved scanning fabric, prints, and magazines into the scanner to edit then print again. I planned on showing for the senior show the fabric installation and book of scanned images from my thesis. It is scary not knowing what will happen due to the coronavirus epidemic. A lot of the seniors feel that our senior year was taken away from us so short. We have no idea what will happen with the senior show, fashion show, or graduation, everything is uncertain.
I plan on making art at home in my apartment and trying by best to adjust.
My project is an exploration of myself and relationships that are close to me. It is a representation of intimacy and identity. Tent is a domestic environment that is constantly evolving through disassembling childhood clothing, undergarments, jewelry, and bedding from the artist’s personal life. I invite individuals that are close to me to share the space with. With these moments of comfort and protection, I then attempt to record the intimacy of being close, seeing yourself as well as seeing others.
Thank you for creating an online platform for artists to show their work from a distance. The first photograph is the fabric installation and the second photo are one of the scans from my senior thesis book.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photographyvictoriaann/
Website: https://victoriaannphoto.wixsite.com/photo
Harlow Figa
These two drawings – “Timelord” and “Quarantineos” – respectively reflect the feelings of being socially distanced and of time ticking through this pandemic. Aside from the constant whirring of existential stress, I find comfort in the inherent solidarity and mutual aid of this moment. I’ve been working from home and doodling as usual, drawing creatures and self-portraits and sharing them on my instagram, @myshadowfriends. Say hey and/or send me your own doodles via instagram!
Nicole Sica
In this time that feels perhaps pre-post-apocalyptic with business after business closing and people in masks and gloves practicing social distancing, I find myself enjoying my alone time by creating. I fill my days mixing and pouring paint, finishing off my works with resin, zendoodles, and finally getting to my resin river live edge table. Check me out @teknclorfirewrks on instagram, maybe even say hello if you like. Keep calm. Make art.
Sam Whalen
In the wake of the pandemic I find silence and solitude in my home studio. My planner, typically jammed with social and work obligations that overshadow my studio practice, is now wiped clear. An almost clean slate. Yet I haven’t been as ‘productive’ as I had anticipated because I didn’t realize how badly I needed time to slow down for me to process and digest the ideas and inspiration for my current body of work. So while I have found that self-isolation has freed up more time in my schedule to work in the studio, I have also found that I needed this time to do things that nourish me (and ultimately my practice): talk on the phone with loved ones, take Epson salt baths, read books about radiation and atomic power, and deep clean my apartment. In the face of COVID-19 I am reminded that I am not a machine but a rather a human body that needs to be tended to not only during moments of crisis but when life returns to routine as well.
I am more conscious of my supplies at the moment. In the past I would go straight to executing whatever my big idea was with little preparation or planning. I am more mindful of the people who have to put themselves at risk at the moment so that I can have the things that I want and need so I am taking every precaution to slow down, plan things out, and move with intention to minimize waste.
IG: @Samwhalen
Website: www.samwhalen.com
Casandra Esteve
My name is Casandra and up until a week ago, I was working as an English Language Assistant in France. When France announced that the schools were closing, I booked a flight home to Mexico City. Now, I’m halfway through my 14 day self-quarantine! I’ve been recording activities for my students in France while also working on various personal projects and reconnecting with myself. Ironically, this time of social distancing has been a time of reconnection for my family. This is the first time in six years that we are all living together in the same house for an indefinite amount of time. We are extremely lucky and grateful that our parents have the capacity to welcome us back home and that we are able to spend this uncertain and unsettling time together.
The piece is a linoleum print on paper. It is titled “El Apapacho”, which is a word that originates from Nahuatl, an Aztec language indigenous to much of Central America. It technically means, affectionate cuddle or hug. In Mexico however, we lend it a much more poetic meaning, to hug with the soul. I made this print a few months ago because I was going through a hard time wrought with anxiety and loneliness. What got me through this time was my support network, the majority of which resided on an entirely different continent. I was trying to depict what their support felt like. Hugs from the soul seem more relevant now than ever.
