COVID’s Impact: Hunting and Gathering
There’s not a soul on earth who hasn’t been impacted by COVID-19 this year in 2020.
No one could’ve seen this coming and it definitely put an unfortunate spanner in the works for a lot of people who had grand plans for their businesses, personal lives and otherwise.
This year I’ve had to learn about adapting to change quickly and effectively. Even though I’ve moved A LOT and am usually always travelling, the limitations and restrictions of this year have forced me into finding new ways of adapting to something that is out of my control.
Melbourne has been in lockdown for five months now. We had a few glorious weeks where we were easing out of restrictions - businesses started to return to normal, we could go out, socialise and see our loved ones. However, with a sudden surge in cases, we were instructed to lockdown again, this time into Stage 4 restrictions.
Stage 4 restrictions limit everyone to travelling no further than 5km from home, a curfew of 8 pm-5 am, outdoor exercising is limited to an hour a day and all shops are closed aside from supermarkets and chemists.
I decided to create something during this time as a reflection of limits on travel and to focus on the neighbourhood surrounding me. Also offering support to businesses such as florists, who have been hit hard by the impact of the pandemic.
I have been collecting flowers where I can in surrounding neighbourhood streets, which will form a new series of Treasure Frames and will be a symbol of coming home, reflection and transformation.
Working with local florists I hope to also incorporate these into a new exhibition which will launch at a later date.
Meditation has really helped me through this time. I have been meditating for 8 years once a day but only since Corona have I felt I’ve really been able to commit myself to the practice. I started incorporating an afternoon or evening meditation into the day as well, where I focus more on visualisation and expressing gratitude.
If you’d like to learn more on meditating I’d love to share with you some simple techniques I’ve found have helped.