Photography / self-initiated
'Back to Normal?' is an ongoing self-initiated photography project, conceived during and inspired by the Covid-19 lockdown. At the start of the UK lockdown in March, I initially intended the project to critique and parody improper use of face masks, and our sometimes blasé overestimation of their protective abilities. Walking down my High Street I saw people diligently wearing masks, but then lifting them to smoke; eat chips; spit on the floor - rather defeating the hygienic point. However, by the time the project was eventually executed near the end of the lockdown, the images had attained a new meaning as a comment on our collective eagerness to fall back into old habits and activities, despite the incongruous visible reminders of the enduring threat of Covid-19.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/94cd8e51-f647-48cc-a8a8-f381ccdc1374/13e0391e-a087-4af7-bf13-dbca2a11cfaa_rw_1920.jpg?h=11911e936ebbc4b18c542791b3138389)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/94cd8e51-f647-48cc-a8a8-f381ccdc1374/9c32fd3d-a0e1-41fc-9841-66a7379980bd_rw_1920.jpg?h=20f9f6dfab803e32a62653607cc88421)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/94cd8e51-f647-48cc-a8a8-f381ccdc1374/4b4db0d0-fc70-4724-8ccf-41505ff81339_rw_1920.jpg?h=8a07a6f5ead01330a19aebba341de7bc)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/94cd8e51-f647-48cc-a8a8-f381ccdc1374/5daab01b-7dd3-41bb-9ace-e8fc811b88d5_rw_1920.jpg?h=118bd1f3ca9cb47ac4fed3985ee66991)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/94cd8e51-f647-48cc-a8a8-f381ccdc1374/9395a905-01a8-46c1-aa20-dbf95b0201c6_rw_1920.jpg?h=9fe73dc2c7cfa60e51095e295a6449a2)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/94cd8e51-f647-48cc-a8a8-f381ccdc1374/8eb4eb52-23f3-43d4-9005-5ee4fac26436_rw_1920.jpg?h=2f39c87252ebc8bcf59d0c290e41944e)
Model: Hannah K Dewhirst