Un/Locked 

On March 23rd 2020, in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus, the Government announced the first National lockdown in the UK. A year later – Un/Locked is a multidisciplinary project that explores the experiences of children throughout the pandemic. We selected a diverse group of kids who offered dynamic answers about how lockdown has impacted they lives, identity and personal growth.

We interviewed and photographed these children, and then I created bespoke paper/photo collages which represent each child’s answers. Each child had a very personal story, which I tried to capture both in composition, use of colour and symbolism. The medium of paper collage beautifully demonstrates the balance between loss and growth, physically representing the layers, cuts, rips and tears in our lives – in order to grow.

The paper-collages are all cut by hand, both the paper elements as well as the printed photographs were cut, folded, glued and shaped to create a 3D effect (nothing is done digitally!) The final artworks were all lit and photographed/ recorded to create the video cinemagraphs!