The effects of the ongoing global crisis have been widely-felt and all-encompassing. Little about our everyday remains unaffected, and there is an inescapable air of uncertainty about the future. As the pandemic completely alters all domains of occupation, artists are no exception. Apart from the lack of demand for work and the closing of college campuses, the lockdown has proved to be both a challenge and an opportunity for creatives around the world. On the one hand, artists have been separated from their community and any stimulation from the outside world, which oftentimes forms an integral part of their artistic creations. At the same time, creatives have had the opportunity to undertake more introspective or time-consuming works which had been indefinitely postponed in the past. FORM asked artists, from photographers to ceramists, how the lockdown has inspired new works and affected their creative process.

Jill Burrow, an American photographer and art director, finds her inspiration from everyday objects, Her still-life compositions are often at the intersection between surrealism and reality, making them surprising yet soothing. The imposed lockdown has helped her approach her creative process more freely.

“The recent months have been challenging and overwhelming. My creative work in isolation has become stronger. I’ve approached each project with less pressure.”

“Most of the images I’ve taken have been a result of my identifying an idea and immoderately trying it. Typically I mull over a concept for many days to see how it can best fit together and it can become emotionally exhausting. I have definitely felt more rested while working during quarantine.”

@jillburro_w

Eleonore Sclavounis, a student-artist currently based in Paris, saw the lockdown as an opportunity to experiment with media and dimensions that she previously deemed too time-consuming. She paints proximity through screenshots of video calls or old photographs, depicting the friends and family that she’s currently separated from.

“I usually draw more than paint, and my subject is usually my friends when we hang out. I sketch them onto a small notebook with a pen. But obviously this was not possible given the current situation which a lot of us are experiencing mostly through the lens of isolation.”

“This, however, presented me with the conditions I had for so long deemed necessary for me to create in a bigger format. I no longer had an excuse to not do all those things I always wanted to do but couldn't. So I painted proximity and the joys of casual intimacy with the time and distance to reflect on its value.”

For Anastassia Zamaraeva, a ceramic artist currently based in Manchester, UK, the pandemic has restricted her access to the communal studio she usually works in. Her ceramic figures, which are oftentimes influenced by her work with adults with complex disabilities, have become more introspective due to the current circumstances.

“The lockdown has altered a lot of the practicalities of my working process. I usually work in a communal studio space but I’ve had to relocate to my dining room at home. It’s awkward and feels restrictive. I can’t be as messy as I’d like.”

“But the ideas and the drive to keep making are still there. My pieces are always reflective of my inner world and now it seems they are resonating further than usual. I think it’s because we are all in some way united in this shared experience. All we see is viewed through a different lens than it was a few months ago.”

“Though seemingly counterintuitive, I believe that there is a lot of space for human connection at a time like this. And it’s been wonderful producing work that helps others to feel seen and validated in their struggles.”

@a_zama_ceramics

As a visual artist myself, the lockdown has provided me with both the time and inspiration for a project aimed at fostering community as well as hopefully providing some entertainment during our shared isolation. The project, titled Vertical Confinement | Horizontal Community was inspired by my current lockdown in an apartment building with a view of, almost exclusively, other building’s balconies. The project began as a pseudo-autobiographical documentation of my experience, recording things seen and heard out of my balcony during my time in lockdown. It has now evolved into a constantly-growing webpage which invites people to share their own balcony community in order to grow a shared virtual one. The scope of the project is—much like the current situation—indefinite and largely dependent on individual contribution.

For the full website, visit http://virtual-balconies.com/ or follow @virtualbalconies

WORDS BY SOFIA ZYMNIs