By Olivia Savage
My practise revolves largely around notions of the inner self, whether that concern lies with myself or my viewer varies with each artwork. My time as a student in Leeds came to a very abrupt end on Monday, 16th March 2020.
In England, the PM gave his first of what became daily press conferences, explaining the severity that was becoming of COVID-19. This prompted the chief minister of my home on the Isle of Man to do the same. The news from my home was that in a very short amount of time I would either not be allowed back to the island at all, where my parents and partner live, or there would be a lot of complications in coming home, in attempt to prevent the spread of the virus.
In less than two hours of this news being released, I had booked myself on the next boat home and by 6pm on Tuesday, 17th March, I was in my house with my partner, my parents and my dogs. A lot of what were normal aspects of my life have altered since coming home. My step-dad is 71 years old and is considered “vulnerable” to getting coronavirus, so we have had to be extra cautious in terms of contact with public spaces and other people to keep him safe.
Although I am back home now, my degree is going ahead and I am having to adjust to a totally new workspace, a lack of contact with students on my course and my tutors, and a new range of, and limited access to materials to use in my practise. As well as the above, I experience anxiety in my life without a pandemic being thrown into the mix, so adjusting to a new routine, new forms of pressure and stress, new restrictions and so on, has not always been easy to deal with.
I started producing pieces of writing each day since the island went on official lockdown and closed its borders. I do not intend to document the situation in any form. I do not intend for these pieces of work to be “read”.
They exist as demonstrations of my inner self during this crisis. They are visuals, each word expressing an emotion in its sound and display. The words on the page are often sporadic, thoughts that are floating in a blank space. Not one following from another, existing separately and all at once.
They are my release.
Writing and Images by Olivia Savage