How has this pandemic affected you and your creative output? How are you adapting to the new realities?
Like everyone, I am worried and anxious. But being able to continue doing art has helped me a lot. At the moment, I am not working towards an exhibition or a show, just expressing my moods and feelings through my visual diary.
Please share any insights you have learned from this “lockdown/self-isolation”? Also, is there a special role you feel artists can play in response to the pandemic?
I think we should try to use the lockdown as a period of reflection and look inwards. I cannot speak for others, but I have to express the fear that I sense around me through my art and give it a visual voice. That being said, I also think that artists and anyone who works in a creative field can generate reassurance. During this dark period, a moment of relief is a valuable thing.
© Afsoon, Daily Coronavirus Diary, 2020
How do you think this will affect artists, the art world and how people interact with art? How do you feel this crisis might reshape our societies in general?
It will be hard for artists. Many events are now either cancelled or postponed. I am not sure how small galleries and institutions will survive. This crisis will reshape the art world, and I hope that people remember artists who made their lockdown a bit more bearable. More generally, I hope that the crisis will make us kinder and treat the environment and nature with more respect.
© Afsoon, Daily Coronavirus Diary, 2020
© Afsoon, Daily Coronavirus Diary, 2020
Afsoon is an Iranian artist. She spent her childhood in Iran and youth in California before settling in London in 1988. Her nomadic life is reflected in her work where East merges with West, and the result is simultaneously familiar and foreign.
Afsoon is unafraid to combine text and images as well as various techniques such as linocut, photography, collage and etching in a single piece. Though her art is frequently deeply personal, it contains multiple meanings and speaks to different people in a myriad of ways. Despite the layered interpretations and methods, her work is not convoluted and the viewer is easily engaged as her art can be humorous, playful and sophisticated all at once.
Her works have been extensively exhibited and can be found worldwide in prominent collections and museums, including the British Museum, LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum), and the Berger/YSL Collection amongst others.
Website: afsoon.co.uk
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