Inside World - Quarantine Chronicles                    

These 24 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 connected different artists together in order to collaborate on a creative project during quarantine. The goal was for artists to stay connected and support each other through the pandemic.

We are two artists located in different parts of the country working in different mediums. Jessica Chappe is a photographer based in Los Angeles, 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.  Through their imagination they expand away from their inside world and strive for connection with others and also with nature, which is something that is always constant. 

4/16/2020-5/31/2020