Since Covid.19 began in March 2020, everything in society has been stripped back to thebare bones. This disease has had a devastating effect, not just on a practical level but alsoon our mental wellbeing. We are not made to be solitary, we need that connection to theouter world. On the other hand, we've had to slow down and take stock. Life has becomesimpler and quieter. Nature is flourishing and we can actually hear the birds singing.During this time I wanted to explore and document with my camera what Cork city looks likeand what effect Lockdown is having. I noticed of course all the business premises that hadto shut their doors and the empty streets but this enabled me to take the time to appreciateour beautiful city.As a visual artist I've always been fascinated by effects of light, transient shadows,reflections, the mirror image, what is real and unreal.An example of this can be seen in my image 'Raindance in Lockdown' taken on a typical wetand grey morning in early February. Just as I passed by 'Earth Cafe ' on South Mall the sunsuddenly came out and I was lucky enough to capture a reflection of this empty Cafeenveloped in a silver coat of raindrops and it lifted my spirit.Irish poet and philosopher John O'Donoghue writes beautifully about the Irish psyche. Eventhough he died in 2008 he had a great understanding of our celtic souls. In his work EternalEchoes he writes…..'The hunger to belong is at the heart of our nature. Cut off from others we atrophy and turn inon ourselves. The sense of belonging is the natural balance of thing
