Solitary Landscape
During the national lockdown in the spring of 2020 many people were effectively trapped in their own homes. This confinement caused levels of stress and other related mental issues to rise. Later the government revised the rules so that people could leave their homes for exercise, consequently many flocked to the countryside. Cycling and walking/hiking replaced other activities that were closed (the gym, sporting activities, socialising, etc). Even so strict rules requiring people not to mix and to stay away from each other were in force to contain the virus. In effect people were still trapped, starved of social interactions but could to a degree move more freely around their local area.
Now we come to my initial project concept. I want to portray the solitude, the loneliness, the feeling of separation, the emptiness that many people felt during the lockdown and still felt/feel even though when the subsequent restrictions were lifted. The duality of using the landscape to convey these concepts as a reference to actual events as well as in a conceptual way to express the emotions people have felt and still do feel is no accident. The landscape is the canvas from which the emotions I have mentioned before will be expressed on.
Initial concept
Stage One: – Empty landscape
Stage Two: – Distant figure in the landscape
Stage Three: – Figure facing the camera closer in the landscape
Stage Four: – Studio portraits