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.
Model: Hannah K Dewhirst
