Back in March I made a commitment to make 19 short pieces (videos) all in some way relating to the COVID times: with themes such as quarantine, isolation, inwardness, masks, etc. Now I add to the list breathing, blacklivesmatter, protests, and the profound momentum that is building to really change some racist systems, people, and policies.
I've been slow to get the work made (I have about 14 of the 19 conceptualized) so the early weeks of feeling overwhelmed, afraid, unsure, bewildered, etc., have morphed into more subtle feelings of a kind of heavy weight, patience (or impatience), depression at times, and/but also actually taking pleasure in the relative quiet in my days. I hope by the time I launch each video, the relevance will still be there for the viewers. For example, we aren't technically being asked to shelter at home any more, but that commitment is still my modus operandi, so the works will continue to reflect aspects of shelter, confinement, lack of social interaction.
For these videos, while I am thinking about the effects of how we are trying to mitigate the spread of the virus, I'm simultaneously taking in a great deal more information about social justice and how to be anitracist. It is so interesting to me that the BLM movement has an energy like never before, and I notice this in myself too. It occurs to me that perhaps one of the reasons so many more white people, finally, are appearing to take action for the long haul (let's hope), is due to the fact that many have a little more space in their lives, a little less shopping, less running around, less going out. Perhaps we've slowed down? Are able to pay attention? To listen? Certainly with more time to scroll through social media and get woke. Silver lining of the virus?