Medium: Photography

Size: 100 x 35 cm

“These four images are from Home Alone an occasional and ongoing photography series about the effects of Covid-19 on the mental and sexual health of gay men. To date, the series has focused on the effects of lockdown isolation on loneliness, depression and sex-based risk taking. Here we see our four subjects alone and homebound by the threat of Covid and the restrictions of a lockdown. In our first image, Kivin simply stares out the window, wondering what will become of him. In the two center images, Nitra checks the gay apps, questioning whether the risk is too much for sex and companionship. Ultimately, in the third photo, he capitulates to sadness and isolation. And in the final image, Ark huddles in his bedroom, looking fearfully at what approaches him. Each of our subjects appears nude, symbolic of the way threats to everyone’s health reduces us all to our basic self. Gone are job titles, wealth and status. A virus, whether it be HIV or Covid-19, is non-judgmental and only seeks a suitable host. And like our subjects, we all emerge from this pandemic, survivors of a series of risks and consequences.”