FACING THE LOCKDOWN

FACING THE LOCKDOWN is a global photographic documentary about the direct and indirect consequences of the Coronavirus: Personal portraits and stories from all over the world of families that are dealing with the issue, each in their own way. We can't leave our houses during the lockdown so the photos are made with video calls. A professional camera is pointed at my smartphone so that it frames both the people and the smartphone itself (including rough pixels, bad internet connection and scratches). It resembles the way that we have to communicate with each other during this pandemic: with the help of technology. With the help of a toilet paper roll people make an improvised tripod. They place the structure on a chair with some books so we can move it around until the perfect position has been reached. Amazingly, this works very well! I also take a photo of the view out of their window (what do they see during lockdown when looking outside), and a photo of the tripod that they have built. Everybody gets interviewed by e-mail with exactly the same questions, so it will be possible to compare cultures, ages and nationalities. This documentary spreads exactly like the virus: through the grapevine. So far, there are over 25 stories from 15 different countries and the project is still growing. THE PURPOSE The goal is to get this story published as much as possible to show how the virus affects everybody (also if you are not infected). Eventually, the goal is to make the project profitable so one third of the profit will go to a fund that helps victims of the virus. This will be done by publishing a book and preparing the serie as a light weight pop-up expo that can be hired by companies that like to show their employees and customers the effect of the Cornavirus. Think about hospitals and public transport for instance.