Items

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  2021-09-16

  Escaping Melbourne - HIST30060

  This is a picture of Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine)’s Terminal 4. I flew out of Melbourne to get home to Tasmania just days before rising cases of the Delta variant forced state governments to shut borders once again. I remember the surreal feeling of passing through the airport then. Without the rush of people, the place felt gigantic. My eyes, typically drawn towards the way I needed to go, were able to refocus towards the ceilings, pillars and billboards. It felt like standing in a cathedral. As I was dwarfed by the sheer size of the terminal, I reflected on how COVID was reshaping billions of lives and world history as a whole too.
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  2020-03

  The long summer break

  I submitted what the start of the pandemic was like from the view of a 16-17 year old and how it started the rapidly changed conditions.
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  2021-04-13

  Life During Covid

  I submitted this as an account for what it is like to have both great things and bad things happen during the pandemic.
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  2021-03-03

  I wish it was a joke

  I came across this post on Instagram tonight. I read it as a joke at first, until it hit me that it actually (and sadly) isn't a joke. I scrolled through the comments and realized that so many people replied to this post in memory of their lost loved ones. What comes off as a joke about government and taxes suddenly hits you hard when you take a second to reflect on the statement. Last year I did know anyone who had lost a loved one to covid, a year later I don't know anyone who hasn't.
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  2020-11-08

  The Bondi COVID-19 Testing Centre

  HIST30060 To accomodate the huge numbers of people needing COVID-19 tests, a screening clinic was erected in the Bondi Beach carpark. The first time I saw it, I didn’t really know what to think. Of course I was pleased, and proud, that Sydney was creating free and open spaces to test as many people for COVID-19 as possible. But seeing the clinic in Bondi, against the sunny beach, felt surreal. Even after months of living with the pandemic there’s still something indescribably strange about such a familiar place having to adapt to COVID-19.
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  2020-09-16

  The Daily Commute

  I composed this piece for my Painting I class around the start of the pandemic when everything was still surreal. If I did a piece on COVID now, it would be entirely different. Nevertheless, I think the general tone of this piece shows how I and most likely many others have experienced the pandemic. I decided to place this scene on the Subway since New York City was the epicenter of COVID-19, and like COVID, the Subway is known as "the great equalizer". The tightness of space on a subway also gives the feeling of being trapped, which has been a pretty universal feeling during this time, not to mention the acute awareness of germs that one has both on the subway and during COVID. I was also inspired by the art that came from the Black Plague depicting 'witch' doctors and skeletons and wanted the figures I painted to mimic that sense of doom. Each figure represents a different feeling or character that has solidified itself in our COVID centered lives. I am sure many people can relate to the shag of hair bent over a computer as we navigate online classes and jobs, or to the sympathetic limp glove that essential workers wear everyday, or to the three characters that both warn and frighten us. I hope that at the end of this pandemic we can look back to what has come out of peoples' restlessness and suffering, and resolve to live in care of others to prevent future tragedies. #ForhamUniveristy
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  2020-05-31

  idek

  it’s funny to think how this all started as a joke. i always knew that this was real and it was happening, but no one really took it seriously, no one thought that i could really happen to them. however, over the past months, it has become clear how the virus has affected us, in a way that no one ever really thought it would. the past few months for me have been, for lack of a better word, different. with all the uncertainty and all the time, i find myself questioning it all. it was like waking up from a dream, i second guess myself, wondering if it was all really happening. but then, i look at the movie tickets pinned to my wall, expired; my backpack, sitting in the corner of my room, untouched; and my textbooks lying on my desk, collecting dust. and i realize, yes, this was really happening. i don’t know if anything i have said holds any significance or meaning, or even if it makes and sense. but this is a time of senselessness, so i guess it fits right in.
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  2020-04-20

  Life during Covid-19

  April 20th, 2020 Covid-19 is spreading like wildfire. Cases are going up like no other and many hospitals are running out of room for patients. Whenever I look outside, I barely see any cars compared to how it used to be. Roads aren’t as busy and many people are staying indoors. I was riding bikes the other day and we passed by a park with caution tape surrounding the whole thing. Due to gyms being closed people are starting to go on runs and trying to keep themselves fit during this tough time. People are definitely not trying to come in contact with other people and if two people are about to cross each other on the same path one goes to the road. A lot of people have been going to hardware stores to get stuff to build so they would have something to do during the day. Many people are starting to make there own gardens so that they could see the flowers growing everyday to give them something to look forward to. Online schooling hasn’t been the best, but you have to do it. I really miss all my friends and I know that I won’t see them till next school year or maybe later. When I first heard about Covid-19 I didn’t think much of it and then it hit Idaho and know 3/4ths of the news is talking about the Coronavirus. I like to watch the videos that have been posted on social media about Covid-19 because they make me feel like we are all going to get through this but we should laugh about it instead of being scared because then you can have hope, and personally I think that is one thing we definitely need.
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  2020-03-28

  Morning flight: Surreal times

  Walking by oneself in the dawn light I cannot but wish we too could fly away from the surreal nature of this virus. A tiny speck of life, unable to be seen, has felled the economies of the world and the hubris of mankind in the space of 3 short months. My life continues pretty much as usual except only at home whilst food lasts. All my family continue to be employed - we are one of the lucky ones. I wonder if and when guilt will set in?