Sick Days (2020-2023)
As the pandemic began, we were told to isolate and compartmentalize ourselves. The virus had transformed our friends, family and familiar places into a new and unknown threat. As Toronto weathered successive viral waves and lockdowns, the photographer's community began to grapple more intensely with mental illness, substance abuse, isolation and inequity. Suicides and violence were on the rise. Fear and misinformation saturated daily life. At first the photographer worked to visualize these themes. Eventually the effort to photograph the present gave way to capturing glimpses of a dystopian future.
These photos are an instinctual reaction to the pandemic. The images are honest. Nothing was staged or manipulated. As a response to the politicization of masks and vaccines, and the growing public hostility toward the science and journalism establishments, Sick Days is intentionally presented without captions or an editorial statement. The decontextualization of the images is employed to present a nebulous narrative, to be defined by the viewer themselves.
Sick Days is an ongoing project that is being self-published in limited numbers as annual volumes.
Please visit the store to purchase a copy and support the project.
