Through the 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
Women photographers from around the world share images of life in lockdown. See how they viewed the pandemic
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.” 3. Self-reflection: 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.
4. Octopus locks: “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
2. Family again: Lina Collado (@lina_collado), 39, was visiting family in Puerto Rico in March. “It was my first trip back in over a year (from the US, where she works). I had been unable to see my parents, my brothers, my entire family, or my beautiful home. (Here) my cousin, aunt, mother and I had decided to create an at-home beauty parlour. My cousin dyed my mother’s hair and I cut it. It was the first time we spent time together since January 7, 2020.” in their daily at-home life. I photographed my backyard on a quasirainy day,” she says. “And there was rain, and there was sunlight. There were feelings of sorrow, but there was also hope.”
6. Desperate pleas: “Stuck at home in the first lockdown, I felt depressed. This image is a representation of poor mental health and a desperate plea for the end of the pandemic,” Ranita Roy (@ranita3roy), 27, from Kolkata.
7. New life: Analia Cid (@analia.cid), 31, from Argentina, submitted a photograph of her partner Agustín, their cat and his newborn nephew and godson Milo. Agustín has a heart condition that puts him at higher risk for Covid-19, so the couple isolated extra-carefully in the lockdown. But on his birthday, in October, his sister and Milo visited. “I wanted to express the tenderness and vulnerability of this moment,” Cid says. “Our societies tend to erase ways of living healthier masculinities from the public view and I think that as photographers, it is our job to show that this is possible.”