Coronavirus: Dressing up in isolation
- Published
Photographer Julia Keil decided to turn the camera on herself, making a series of self-portraits inspired by paintings, the cinema or other photographs.
Having been in London for a couple of months, Keil arrived back in Paris just as it was going into lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
"Rather than going out and reconnecting with the streets I love to roam, I found myself abruptly bound to the constraints of my sixth-floor flat," she says.
"Like many, I was suddenly isolated and uncertain of tomorrow.
"I felt as if in a dream, living somewhere between the real and surreal with the only guidance being news stories, hearsay and the changes I observed happening around me from day to day."
"I quickly realised that with no work and no social life, I had gone from having no time to having plenty.
"All excuses I gave myself for not pursuing my creative ideas prior were now void.
"Each day, I decided on a portrait - I'd immerse myself into that world.
"I researched, listened to the music from that era or movie soundtrack and watched movies and documentaries.
"I studied the pose and emotion which a chosen image or painting exuded and, of course, gave myself the time taking the picture and processing it after.
"Everything which formed each image I improvised with what I already had at home with the exception of a couple wigs, which I awaited eagerly from Amazon.
"Pursuing this ongoing project has given a structure and a playground to my days in lockdown as well as a means to visually communicate what I and others could be currently feeling or experiencing.
"Having the world slow down, despite the tragic circumstances, on some aspects can be taken as a gift - a gift that can be filled with not just fear but with hope and an opportunity to reflect, to learn and to re-connect in ways we perhaps had pushed aside in the world that used to be."
With Paris due to remain on lockdown until 11 May, Keil says she will continue taking self-portraits. You can follow her on Instagram @juliakkeil , externaland see her other work on her website, external.
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All photographs © Julia Keil