Collaging COVID-19

Samantha Malay

Easi-Bild Interior Life
Details from Easi-Bild Pattern No. 84 Guest & Tourist House, copyright 1950; old postcard of Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn

Inspired by prison movies, accounts of lone travelers lost at sea, and my own experiences with cabin fever, I understand that a rich interior world can be a matter of survival. This collage illustrates an imagined “pattern method of construction” we could each use to cultivate such a space in our lives, in order to not feel confined by our limitations.

The promotional text on the original pattern reads:

“Here’s the ideal Guest or Tourist House for either personal or commercial use. Offers ideal living quarters for year round. Just the right size for week-end lake or mountain retreat. A little house that offers a lot of living. Complete list of materials printed on pattern.”

samanthamalay.tumblr.com

Paul Brown

The collage reflects a sense of unease and impending catastrophe which I have felt building for many months prior to the Coronavirus pandemic. Man has been happy to live for the now and to satisfy himself on an individualistic basis at the expense of our planet and natural environment, or anyone else. Politicians as matter of expediency burry toxic problems in the sand. The perception of reality is increasingly artificial and seemingly only now exists through the lens of electronic devices. Whilst the fires and viruses rage, the super rich escape to exotic retreats. But would one really wish to be isolated with them?

Doug Schulte

Things you can do for fun in isolation.

Chelsea Friese

The pieces I’ve used in this image are very symbolic to some things I feel represent me as a person as well as the shapes of my body.  Some of the most important features in this image to me are in the abdominal area. First, you will see the medical symbol, the snakes wrapped around a sword, symbolizing my pursuit of health and a  career in nursing, which is my heart and passion. Second, you will see the red and white candy, comprising my belly because it symbolizes the life(red and white for blood) growing inside of me(I am pregnant). For my hips, which tend to be wide, I used faux rose petals. My arms are in the air, flailing all over because I am an active and busy person. My head is split open with material spewing from it, symbolizing my tendency to overthink things. My facial features are comprised of cats eyes and nose, because, I love cats. I used a triangle for my head with dots, because I have freckles, and the triangles used in my head and pelvic area, symbolize my spiritual belief in the father, son, and holy spirit. Lastly, I used sharp angles for my legs to symbolize the path in life I walk on, planned with intention. Although I plan my steps, indicated by the top portion using bck and white, my steps are in fact order by my God, symbolized by the color used in the bottom portion of m legs, indicating that my life doesn’t always go how I plan it to.

Cinthya De Luna

Kaylene Gustafson

This is a Shebra. A Zebra during quarantine with Sheep wool. It has bunny ears and a bunny tail. It looks more like a caterpillar so I added 8 legs. Two of the legs have claws if needed. With hair like a lion she is going for a walk on a sunny day.

Maricela Carranza

Carrie Padojino

My mythical animal is a sea creature. The long spear shooting out of the front is for defense. The creature has fangs to puncture and inject poison into its victim. The long body helps to glide through the water as well as strong arms off both sides to help project forward when swimming. The claws are used in defense as well as breaking open shells of other animals to allow for it to eat them. My creature also has large eyes to help see further in the water so it can see danger coming or prey in the far off water.

Slim Blanks

Greetings from Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada. The city that does 90% of its advertising on telephone poles (legally and encourage). Needless to say, with the state of emergency here, no new activity. But they look great after they have been up for months and years just being covered by new layers after new layers.

Lady Pondexter

Lairissa Vale

Angelica Coleman

Self-portrait

Corinne Phillips

Self-portrait — what could happen to my body during the pandemic?

Mackenzie Pell

COVID 19: Butt Wiping and COVID 19: Keep Coming are both pieces within a larger series which started as a humorous coping response to the Coronavirus pandemic. I conceptualized these two pieces and the series as somewhat of a Barbara Kruger-esque mash-up of 1940s wartime PSA posters and 21st century meme culture. I aimed to first find vintage images that could fit with current events and conditions and then to recast them with original text that narrated these events and conditions. While Butt Wiping refers to the strange phenomena of toilet paper hoarding, Keep Coming refers to the unfamiliar scene of empty shelves at grocery stores due to panic-buying. In creating these artworks, I also sought to finally try my hand at producing art that was relevant to the times and circumstances. I want to be a contributor of the uniquely specific art that is resulting from this pandemic. I want to be involved with such new founded creative movements and initiatives such as “#coronaissance” and “#30dayartquarantine,” each as evidence of what many are predicting and hoping is the comeback of creativity in the wake of social distancing and sheltering in place. 

Instagram: @mackcollage

Michelle Miller

Instagram: @mlmgraphic

Amy Tingle

I’m thinking about how many times a day I touch my face and how suddenly it’s terrifying. I could “catch” the virus or transmit it via touch and apparently the most common way is by touching another person who is infected (embracing, shaking hands, etc) and then touching our own faces. We’ve become the monsters.

Sarah James

All I know is that I am a better, more stable person in a world of casual and intimate touch. Being partnered means facing, daily, that there is an end in sight, that death or blight will take the hand on your foot, the brushing of a shoulder, the embrace after a nightmare. Living alone, on the other hand, is a kind of starvation for a person like me. It flattens the view, makes the joy a little more dear. There is an energy to another body within coughing distance, a guttural awakening of the unconscious senses, more so when that body has come close again and again. All I know is I saw my son the other day – bringing him food in the quarantine – and my body knew respite even as I struggled to stay distant. If I cannot clasp a hand, or throw a high five, or bump a hip, how will I know my people are safe, how will I know that I am safe?

Agnieszka Abramowicz

The toilet paper insanity that has been reported all over the world has been absurd enough to find its place in my art. I am mostly fascinated how this situation affects relations and it seems to have both positive and negative sides. Some might buy way too much toilet paper but a lot of people need to stay at home and be creative, art wise but also in terms of what we do with our time. Parents have to stay with their children, some of us need to spend more time with our own thoughts, maybe the inner child can be taken care of now?I believe this situation can bring a positive change in how we treat ourselves and others once it’s over.

Instagram: @klippaklistrafroken

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