Public Project
Katherine In Covid
In the chaotic imagery of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, there are stories of the in between, the everyday struggles and fears, that drip and drag us along. Katherine Park, an artist and my longtime partner since 2005, had one of those struggles. She is a singer, musician, actor and teacher living and working in Alameda, located in San Francisco's East Bay. Katherine has a respiratory history of bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia, elevating her early on to the highest tiers of vulnerability during the pandemic.
In March 2020, California led the United States' effort to lock down part of their economy for the good of society, hoping to slow the spread of the virus to help the hospital systems stay below their breaking point. The city of Alameda announced a multi-week lockdown in this early phase, which marked the start of a hard journey in the reality of a covid-stricken country which in 2020 had 4% of the world's population, yet 25% of the overall cases and the highest mortality rate.
Shortly after lockdown, Katherine experienced frequent breathing and high heart rate issues. After speaking with a medical professional, she was diagnosed with panic attacks. The hardest days early on in the pandemic saw as many as three or four major episodes, immobilizing Katherine for up to thirty minutes at a time and leaving her physically and emotionally exhausted for hours. I decided to make a change away from location based assignments and stay around the home throughout this period, in efforts to minimize the risk of Katherine getting sick.
These images are part of that journey.
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