Exiled Dundee artist uses lockdown to reconnect with City of Discovery

A Dundee-born illustrator from one of the north east’s best-known artistic families has been using the lockdown to reconnect with her city past.

Annalisa Morrocco, 58, daughter of painter Alberto Morrocco, has produced a witty vision of a “Lockdown Island”, gently poking fun at the rigours of everyday life in the face of coronavirus.

The Dundee High School-educated artist, who left the UK for a life in France around 30 years ago, said the work has allowed her to reconnect with her home.

She said: “I miss Dundee. I do miss my homeland. Maybe it is something to do with the lockdown. I feel trapped. I couldn’t go to Dundee now even if I wanted to. It is important to say where I come from. My father was a wellrespected artist in Dundee and that is an important part of it too. My brother is also well known.”

Her father Alberto lived and taught in the city for much of his life and is seen as one of Scotland’s most important 20th Century artists.

Annalisa moved to France early in her career and built a successful reputation as an illustrator in the publishing and advertising industries.

“Lockdown Island” started life as an assignment for the college class she teaches in Rennes, the capital of the French region of Brittany where she now lives.

“When I gave it to them I thought ‘what a great project. I should do this myself’.”

The Official Map of Lockdown Island parodies stockpiling, daily exercise, quarantine and the hunt for a vaccine.

“The purpose was to lighten these heavy days,” she said.

“At the very beginning, there were so many jokes going around on the web. Then things became a lot more serious.

“It is a period of history that we are experiencing and living through. This is my contribution to it.”

She said the jokes are very British in style, too.

She continued: “I still see things in a British way. It could never be published here in France. People would not get the anecdotes.

“I sat down and said I am not going to do a normal map. I wanted to go into detail. It was like a puzzle. I had to put the whole thing together.”

She said painting it brought back memories of growing up and going to school in Dundee.

“The High School was great, but I don’t know if the teachers would remember me in a great way,” she said. “The school at the time was very academic. I was always drawing or looking out of the window.

“I still have the best friends from there, even after all these years. We were chatting online only last week.”