Through looking glass

A pandemic-era project invited women photographers from around the world to share what they captured of life in lockdown. The results are moving, questioning, explorative

Fractured identities, neglected haunts, children escaping into their imaginations and loved ones connecting in new ways — these are some of the moments captured and preserved by The Journal, a collective project that aims to showcase work created by women photographers in the pandemic.

The project was launched in March 2020 by photographers Charlotte Schmitz of Germany and Hannah Yoon of the Philippines. “In the early days of the pandemic it was evident many of us photographers were losing income opportunities, many living isolated, and that it disproportionately affected women in the industry,” Schmitz says.

Women in general are underrepresented in the field, she adds. “The pandemic has only heightened the imbalance. Media outlets around the world got decimated, many have smaller budgets than before. Additionally, women often shoulder the main responsibility for family-related work at home in the pandemic and can’t work as much as before.”

More than 400 women from over 75 countries have applied to be part of The Journal’s lockdown project. These artists have been split up into groups within which they collaborate, offer feedback on each other’s work, and decide which images should be uploaded to the Instagram page @thejournal_collective, which serves as an online gallery.

“We turned the cameras on ourselves, our families, on intimate moments and private spaces,” Schmitz says, “focusing on the collective personal, emotional and psychological experiences during this crisis.”

Marzena Skubatz (@marzenaskubatz), 42, from Germany turned the lens on herself during her self-isolation, trying to understand what was happening “around me and inside me”. “I began to photograph myself, which helped me document the days in lockdowns and trace my feelings and thoughts. During that process, photography became a tool for me to hold on to this contradictory and difficult time and to be able to grasp it,” she says.

“My daughter’s, thick, thigh-length hair has a presence, a character that is tangible in this picture. It looks and behaves like the tentacles of an octopus and I love how she seems to enjoy this,” says Claudia Leisinger (@claudialeisinger), 47, of the UK. The photograph is an invitation to enjoy and embrace parts of ourselves that at times seem uncontrollable, she adds.

Deborah Elenter (@deborah_elenter), 47, from Uruguay, says she spent the lockdown trying to reflect and observe. “I started photographing my family in its intimacy, my children