Artist, Educator, Facilitator
Artist, Educator, Facilitator
Covid Memorial bears witness to all those who have lost their lives in the UK during the Coronavirus pandemic. Begun in lockdown (November 2020), built in isolation in my kitchen, the work remembers all those who will no longer return to their families and homes. Calculated to take 2 years to complete, the installation will be made of 100,000 paper hearts attached to ten 10 metre rolls of paper.
14th January 2021: Post experimental phase, the installation is begun.
14th January 2021
14th January 2021. Just 246 lives commemorated - I am suddenly aware of what an enormous task I have given myself and how much time I shall spend making and fixing these paper hearts.
20th January 2021: 1370 hearts representing the 1370 elders in care homes who died of Covid-19 in the first week of January 2021.
20th January 2021: 1610 families in the UK recorded the death of a loved family member to Covid-19 on 19/01/21.
February 1st 2021: Running out of room to build the memorial. 3000 hearts representing 3000 deaths today.
1st February 2021: 4000 hearts
2nd February 2021: 4000 hearts
15th February 2021: 5000 hearts
17th February 2021: 6000 hearts bearing witness to 6000 of the many deaths to Covid-19 in the UK since February 2020.
March 5th 2021: A call to make today a Covid Memorial Day in recognition of the beginning of the Covid pandemic. Vigil and one minute’s silence.
3rd March 2021: Covid Memorial now holds 7000 hearts.
17th March 2021: No longer able to fit into the kitchen, I must display the 8000 hearts in my lounge.
19th March 2021: 9000 hearts secured.
20th March 2021: 9000 hearts fill up almost the entire lounge.
20th March 2021: 10,000 hearts attached and the first panel is made, but there is an increasing risk of damaging the piece as it becomes too large to display in the lounge, so only a detail caught on camera today. Nine more panels to be built before the installation is complete.