Everyday Objects in Times of a Pandemic

This series of watercolors originated with a mind that is worried and concerned.

We all live through unexpected times. The days seem long and short at the same time. I discovered, that obsessive news watching doesn't help to predict the future.

I also found out that by reaching out to a new focus, by creating a few drawings every day, I could calm my mind.

I assessed my surroundings. It's a process, that I am familiar with as an artist. As the daughter of an archeologist growing up in Greece, I always incorporated everyday objects into my work. Also, the concept of a typology, where you can line up a piece of work as a continuing series has been part of my artistic thought process. A series of photographs of Water Towers by the German artists Bernd and Hilla Becher still makes my heart sing.

All these everyday objects, antibacterial soaps, the cleaning products, the face masks, that we are surrounded by now, I never paid any particular attention to them. Now they have become suddenly life savers.

They function not just as life savers but also as a reminder of a way of life in America. If you bought something in a bottle, it meant there was a cure. You have a head ache, you take a Tylenol. Right now, there is no cure. Nothing in a jar, a can or in a bottle will make it go away, yet.

By making these drawings I notice the unintentional Andy Warholian Gestalt of our industrial products. They might as well look like Campbell Soup cans. Although Pop culture won't overcome our sadness, at least it offers a temporary, sad and comic relief.

Bastienne Schmidt