Inside World - Quarantine Chronicles
These 20 pieces are part of a call and response series organized through @shoebox_pr during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shoebox PR is a support network for creatives that randomly connected artists across the world in order to collaborate on a creative project during quarantine.
We are two artists located in different parts of the country working in different mediums. Jessica Chappe is a photographer based in Los Angeles, CA during this project, and Mia Risberg is a painter based in Ann Arbor, MI.
Jessica: We did this project over 14 days. The fast turnaround rate allowed me to not overthink and work with what was in front of me. It helped me to unearth creativity from my own life, turning the camera inward and pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone. My photographs play with the concept of where I am versus where I want to be, physically and metaphorically in the time of quarantine.
Mia: When the quarantine began, it was difficult for me to focus on my studio work so I welcomed the diversion of a new project. I, too, found the quick turnaround helpful because it encouraged spontaneity and an intuitive approach to painting. At first my paintings seemed to be responses to colors or patterns in Jessica’s photographs. Quickly though, they evolved to something that parallels what we were going through at that moment. The painted figures reflect the distancing that we were experiencing during the COVID-19 quarantine period. Although the figures appear introspective and isolated, they also seem to merge with the natural world.
4/16/2020-5/31/2020
