Life in lockdown has adjusted the spotlight on my life: what works, what doesn’t work and what the hell am I working on?
Nine weeks into isolation, my unachieved to-do lists runneth over and my bank of 70,000 photos remain uncatalogued. My expansive collection of books still boast coloured spines in haphazard rows across haphazard shelves. And my plan to finally burst through my self-imposed creative blocks is now a shameful mess of unachievement. Am I too hard on myself?
Today, I am readjusting the spotlight and refocusing the lens. I am being kinder and forgiving to this here creative. There have been small victories in lockdown which have not merited enough attention. Returning to blog again today, I begin with shining the light on one small step forward.
On a recent whim, I was prompted one morning to drag my feet and camera out of metaphorical, paralysing sludge, and submit to Shutter Hub‘s call for submissions. To encourage photographers to connect and show their work online during these isolating times, Shutter Hub has created an online exhibition of photos documenting lives lead in lockdown, entitled ‘EVERYDAY DELIGHT’. And what a delight it is!
As I work to revitalise my portfolio and return to work, I am grateful and proud that Shutter Hub accepted my submission for this exhibition ‘showcasing photography that discovers the beauty in the everyday, finds the magic in the mundane, and looks for the joy in the small things.’
Shutter Hub’s exhibition also reignited my motivation by reminding me this: it only takes one spark to light the fuse for inspiration–that when you feel stuck and void of energy, the fuel to sizzle the fire within you to wake up and take action, can be found in a fleeting glance at a post you saw whilst drinking your morning coffee. The other lesson? Stop telling yourself you cannot do it or no one wants to look at or read or savour your creations. There is a place for you as an artist in any medium–you simply need to shift the angle of the lens.
Perhaps that’s what drew me to submit to this exhibition–my alignment with the blurb on Shutter Hub’s website, enticing photographers to submit their work:
In a world where we seem to have more to worry about every day it’s not always easy to find the positive view, but we are hoping that this revisit to the EVERYDAY DELIGHT theme will give viewers something to think about and to focus on temporarily, and perhaps to come away seeing things differently.
I am seeing things differently today. I invite and encourage you to visit the EVERYDAY DELIGHT exhibition to transport yourself for a few minutes into a visual collection where one can glimpse the world of others’, as seen through their own lockdown lens.
Thank you for breezing through my musings today. DBI
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