“Washing hands for 20 seconds is central to the expanded public awareness campaign to prevent and slow the spread of coronavirus” 

Department of Health and Social Care (04 March 2020)

 

This body of work has been created in direct response to the advice given by the United Kingdom government to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

 

We now find ourselves living in a world where we are constantly aware and reminded of an invisible threat. We are repeatedly advised that the boundaries of our bodies may at any time become compromised through direct and indirect contact with others. Therefore, we now treat all others with suspicion, socially distancing ourselves from the threat that they may pose. However, unknowingly we may also be the infected threat.

 

This increased awareness, of the abjectness of our own body, has resulted in society collectively and proactively taking self-responsibility to guard against and ultimately eradicate the virus in the only way we can – hand washing. This ritual cleansing of the surfaces of our hands removes potential contaminants and although we may be imbued with a sense of control, this is a temporary condition as almost immediately we return to a state of threat and fear.

 

The images are created using the remnants of my own cleansing process combined with another potential contaminant, my own saliva. Spat, dripped and then dried upon a digital photographic surface, all that remains viewable are traces of an invisible threat, traces of a time of fear and isolation.