postcards in isolation: a different form of exile – week 1

 

Our new ‘Postcards in Isolation: A different form of exile’  series launched this week.

We’ve been humbled by the way artists are responding to this call, and by their sheer generosity to share hard hitting reflections, observations, wanderings and coping strategies. The series will feature around twenty five artists’ responses – shared each Monday, Wednesday and Friday – on our Instagram account (#PostcardsInIsolationCA).

The series is full of creative responses by artists from our network, produced across weeks of physical isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic, around this simple question:

‘Can sharing intimate, imaginative and quick ‘digital creative postcards’ offer insight into what artists in the Counterpoints Arts network are thinking, feeling and ‘making’ in the times of Covid-19? Can these new insights begin to serve as the catalyst for Counterpoints Arts’ next round of commissions?’

Our wish was to enable artists to share quick snapshots of their current circumstances, and to invite them to explore ideas about what should come next. We didn’t ask for ‘new projects’ – this is a stressful time and people’s health and wellbeing is our primary concern. We simply wanted to see, hear about and share some of the creative, hopeful, questioning, devastating, future projecting, funny, family and environmentally focused new feeling and thinking that artists are grappling with around this uncertain time – to reflect on the injustice but also (possibly) the possibilities.

‘Postcards…’ follows our consultation with artists, which will be informing Counterpoints Arts’ wider work over the next months.

The three artists setting the scene this week:

 

Bojana Janković (3 part)

A daily walk contributes greatly to your mental health.

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A daily walk contributes greatly to your mental health. #PostcardsInIsolationCA Part One ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 〰️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Artist: Bojana Janković @postmoderna An immigrant goes for a local walk during a global pandemic. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 〰️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Postcards in Isolation: A different form of exile – is a series of creative responses by artists from our network, produced across weeks of physical isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 1pm, we’ll be sharing a response from the series. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 〰️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #counterpointsarts #artinlockdown #artinlockdown #art #arts #photography #series #lockdownart #lockdownart #artistsoninstagram #artistsofinstagram #sociallyengagedartists #covid19 #covidart #socialdistancingart #artistsunite #supportartists⁠

A post shared by Counterpoints Arts (@counterpointsarts) on May 18, 2020 at 5:17am PDT

 

Zia Ahmed

A mask for your thoughts

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A mask for your thoughts. #PostcardsInIsolationCA ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 〰️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Artist: Zia Ahmed @ziaahmedx ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ survival techniques for the past few weeks a facemask to wear outside returning to this poem by langston hughes ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 'if you want to send a poem, a lyric, a work, a thought whether someone else's or yours of something that's getting you through or something you keep returning to' share using #PostcardsInIsolationCA ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 〰️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Postcards in Isolation: A different form of exile – is a series of creative responses by artists from our network, produced across weeks of physical isolation during Covid-19. Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 1pm (when no technical difficulties arise), we will be sharing a response from the series. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 〰️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #counterpointsarts #artinlockdown #art #arts #poetry #poem #poet #series #lockdownart #artistoninstagram #artistsofinstagram #sociallyengagedartists #covid19 #covidart #socialdistancingart #artistunite #supportartists #langstonhughes

A post shared by Counterpoints Arts (@counterpointsarts) on May 20, 2020 at 6:50am PDT

 

Bern O’Donoghue (3 part)

It’s enough to do the next scary thing and notice the good stuff.

Coping strategies

Our Common threads 

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It’s enough to do the next scary thing and notice the good stuff #PostcardsInIsolationCA Part One ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 〰️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Artist: Bern O’Donoghue @odonoghuebernadette March & Covid brought unwanted ‘gifts’; the permanent loss of my regular work, postponement of an ACE funded project and cancellation of all foreseeable s/e events. Accepting these thingshas been very hard, but maybe I had to lose control to remember something more important. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 〰️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Postcards in Isolation: A different form of exile – is a series of creative responses by artists from our network, produced across weeks of physical isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 1pm, we’ll be sharing a response from the series. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 〰️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #counterpointsarts #artinlockdown #artinlockdown #art #arts #photography #series #lockdownart #lockdownart #artistsoninstagram #artistsofinstagram #sociallyengagedartists #covid19 #covidart #socialdistancingart #artistsunite #supportartists

A post shared by Counterpoints Arts (@counterpointsarts) on May 22, 2020 at 5:18am PDT

 

We hope you find this series revealing and affecting, and feel inspired to add your own ‘postcard’ using #PostcardsInIsolationCA.

Follow our Instagram account to find new stories each Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the next few weeks.