Noun
A style or movement in art in response to Covid-19 and its stresses.
an artistic style that seeks to capture a feeling or experience of the year 2020
What does it mean?
At the beginning of 2020, we all had different goals and lives. Lock down, quarantine and isolation were just words. We believed that every minute needed to be filled with stuff. Pre-Covid, we crammed every minute with actions that overflowed into each other. No time for family to just get to know each other because we had to fill the gaps. Stuff. It was all stuff. We rushed to get stuff done. Buses, trains. Stuff and then Covid-19 struck like a silent wave.
To me, it was a loss of work, friends losing their jobs, and no grandchildren to hug because they were outside "my bubble". Everything changed. People changed. So we had to adapt. Mums and dads became school teachers while working from home offices. Meetings became Zooms, and a whole new group of people learned how to build playhouses, bake cakes, grow vege gardens and hug through windows. The elderly were isolated. We became isolated. Art changed. So grew the "Covidism" movement in art and photography and music.
Yes, I came up with this word "Covidism" but all movements start somewhere, right? I was a part of a Covid-19 photography group, and two of my images were chosen for a book "Seeing 2020 Photography Under Quarantine" a group exhibition organized by Jennifer Thoreson.
It was then I started to paint. I paint what really matters. Fresh air. Light. Space. The ever changing colour of our great and beautiful land. Appreciating the great outside. From the burned forests that was the start of our 2020 year to the quiet moments found sitting by the ocean with brush in hand. It has also been about finding mentors and artists that also felt the shift and it truly is a shift. Its the beginning of this journey, this movement. This Covidism.
Be a part of the movement:
You can be part of this movement by just starting something creative because it speaks to your soul. Write. Sing. Play. Paint. Photograph. Dance.