Alive and Well During COVID-19

by Francelle Papailler

As an artist, I primarily use photography to claim authorship of my life. My social anxiety has resulted in most of my work being self-portraitures. I work with what is around me to express an emotion or tell a story. I take a minimalistic approach to create art but consider every single detail that goes into the process. If you see it, it was probably meant to be there.

I wanted to know that my creativity is still alive, that I am still capable of making art despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the crippling emotions that come with it. Although most things are forced to come to a halt, I still possess the ability to create. I took a simplistic approach to tell the audience that I still got it. My hair might be messy, I haven’t put on pants in several weeks, nor have I washed my face, but I am still capable of creating...the ability is alive and well.