What struck you from what the other artist said? 

A.

The faucets of our identity as origami is a really interesting idea! What struck me is the idea of what we do shaping our identity, and since we can’t do anything what does it become? 

B

The extremity of the filter of self-scrutiny that lockdown enforced and a feeling of guilt that aspects of lockdown have been positive – whilst so many are outrageously disadvantaged and bereft. 

C

The emptiness and potential of paper resonated with me.  Paper is a lovely and important invention; and good at preservation.

D

I find making origami very peaceful and it’s striking seeing the messages we now all know and have whatever emotional response to, used in what I find to be a meditative process. In a way, folding paper with ‘Stay at home [...]’ feels like a way to meditate on the message itself, similar to a mantra. ​

E

I was struck by the unusual camera angles and interesting light positions, the resultant dislocating feeling I thought is rather effective. The extreme close-ups add to this intense, almost claustrophobic feel that I very much like. 

​F

The first thing that struck me in your piece, Sonya, was the choice of location, hanging the origami figures from the underside of the desk. Perhaps it was simply a choice out of practical necessity, but I felt it gave the arrangement a hidden, secretive feel, as if you were revealing aspects of your identity that were precious and needed shelter, rather than being exposed. This seemed to relate to what you wrote in your supporting text for the piece, about the methods we use to ‘protect’ us ‘from more personal questions’. 

 

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How is that relevant to your experiences and did you have any new thoughts as a result of the creative piece?

A

Also, the idea of always striving to do more and ‘competing’, and not being content most of the time. We’re always looking to the next project, the next goal or the next thing to keep up occupied, only to have it be effectively destroyed when it’s over. If we’re always looking ahead where does it leave us in the present? 

B

Taking the time to creatively explore the balance-point between perceived limitations and lost freedoms may create a more ‘healthy’ dynamic in the future as we edge towards another normal…exploring authentic ways to be alongside those whose experience of lockdown is profoundly negative.

C

I felt a little of what was felt when bad news arrived; I think I'd have felt it more when I was a student. I liked the way that the origami figures were hung from the underside of the desk and not, say, the ceiling; I liked the thought of them hidden away under work.

D

I use usually use blank pieces of paper to fold origami. I wonder how it would affect the meditative process of folding process to see other messages written over the paper. What kind of emotions would ‘Stay Alert’ invoke in me? How about ‘Black Lives Matter’ or the more violent ‘All Cops Are Bastards’? 

E

Like other people, I am spending much of my time at the moment watching and looking at things, the view from my bedroom has become a moving image of sorts through which I interact with the world. The unusual framing and lighting of Sonya’s piece suggests new ways of looking at the things around us, an attitude I find particularly attractive at the moment when I think we all feel rather passive in the midst of the events round us. 

F

I also found the thought about the process of creating origami as a metaphor for the process of lockdown striking, because it chimes with my overwhelming experiences of the lockdown: rules, repetition, and monotony. The writing of the slogans of the lockdown on the paper, over and over again, brought this to life, emphasising the repetition of the folding in the process. All three processes – the writing, the folding, and lockdown - require discipline but can be used creatively. Taking time to look more closely can give us opportunity to see between, what Sonya terms, the ‘light and dark, black and white, stillness and motion’. Indeed, the stillness of the figures in the images conveys something very peaceful and poised, but thinking about them as free objects made me envision them in motion, swaying with the movement of the air in the room, with the breeze. Overall, I found your take on the lockdown inspiring: ‘an opportunity for reflection, appreciation and being-in-the-moment’.

​

 

Sonya

It is interesting seeing how my artwork has stirred various different responses in people. Some have responded to it with a focus on the negative aspects of lockdown – self-scrutiny, guilt, monotony, claustrophobia. Others have seen the piece as an expression of more positive aspects – reflection, creation, appreciation, inner peace. The piece holds and reflects both sets of emotions. 

 

Some people commented on the piece being under my desk – although this was due to practical considerations, I too appreciated the ‘hidden’ nature of the piece. It represents a lot of highly personal experiences. I experienced lots of conflicting and emotions during the intense private experience of folding the origami – from frustration to hope – and the piece is an intimate one.