(18/03) COVID-19: impact on final major project.

As I am already working on the very emotion driven topic that is Alzheimer’s, I cant afford to become desensitised to it in any way. This requires breaks, indulgence in other art forms (music) to keep me aware of what I‘m feeling about the topic and my current mental state, and talking to friends and family about the topic and life beyond it. By maintaining this communication it ensures I don’t become wrapped up in my own thoughts, or set on a straight track, but rather my thinking is questioned and challenged regularly.

Self isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic has made this objective more difficult. Yes in our modern times I can more easily get in contact with others via FaceTime, skype or even just a phone call, however it is hard to validate emotions through this medium. I purposefully conducted as many of my early interviews in person as I could, through the beginnings of the project. I wanted to see the individuals face emoting without the distancing of a camera, as it is a form of communication that gets neglected in purely audio formats. Also with such a difficult topic those thoughts and emotions can be difficult to express, and what isn’t picked up on in words can certainly be picked up on on the interviewee‘s face.

These factors have helped to inform my decision to go home from the 21/03 to at least Easter, in spite of being a British resident. My family, though spilt between two households, lives in Chester and they are the emotional, social support I need during these uncertain circumstances. It is the guaranteed human contact, and though distracting at times, it keeps me grounded and more present then I would be if I self isolated alone in London, thus making this project in fact easier in these times. Because information and what is being advised day to day is changing rapidly, I am aware it could blow over in a week, a month, needless to say no one knows. That is why I think this is the smartest decision, because in Chester I am prepared for it to be any of those length in times and still do the project, in London I am not, and I do not know how the project would turn out in London as my mental state would be more unpredictable.