Mixed Media “Project Isolation”
Children, now alone with Google Meet and not hanging out with their friends, have suffered the effects of the pandemic sequestration as much as anyone. Students at Milagro Middle School are expressing their feelings of loneliness by making art that will be splashed on the side of the school via a projector. “Project Isolation” starts at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25, for a one-time viewing.
The project came about because makerspace art teacher Megan BowersAvina noticed her student’s feelings. Perhaps, she thought, she might be able to get them to connect with their emotions through art. All of the more than 600 students at the middle school are learning remotely from home using Google Meet.
“I asked them to draw what isolation feels like. That was easier for them than expressing it with words. I got stuff that I didn’t expect and when I shared it on Instagram, t he reaction was really profound,” says Bowers- Avina, who also asked for a quote to accompany t he i mages. “With teenagers, you never get i nside t hei r brains, especially with middle schoolers. This is kind of a sneak peek inside their brains and their homes and their pandemic dens, as they call them.” She repackaged the art into a slide show that she intends to display using an iPad, a projector, and one of the middle school’s white walls.
The project proved intriguing enough that Bowers-Avina invited students from Grace Mayer’s art class to join. Now, the total number of children included exceeds 150. In the images, most of these kids wear their emotions on their sleeves.
“It’s meant to be me, but I didn’t finish in time,” says eighth-grader Abigail Bratton, who drew a picture of herself inside of a black splotch. “The dark circle around me is what isolation feels like, and the rest of the things around it are the rest of my thoughts continuing to grow and grow.”
Meanwhile, seventh-grader Nevaeh Apodaca used her iPad to draw a self-portrait in which she wears a hoody and a red mask. “In my drawing, it’s supposed to feel empty and lonely,” she says. “I like being with my family a lot, but I do kind of miss going to school.”
Eighth-grader Manuel Paniagua was able to put his feelings into words. “Remote learning has really been a pain,” he wrote. “I can’t seem to focus, and I’m overall depressed because I have to stay away from my [extended] family and friends, and I don’t like to be lonely.”
People can check out “Project Isolation” at Milagro Middle School (1720 Llano St.) by driving by or parking in the lot for a drive-in-style art opening. Alternatively, the show is available to stream on Google Meet at meet.google.com/vsr-fyrd-khe. — Jason Strykowski