I made this book in November 2020 - eight months into the pandemic. I wanted something to help me track the progression of time and place myself as Covid-19 persisted. Made up of 62 pages, each day of December 2020 and January 2021 is given a single page.
In March 2020, when the pandemic first emerged, it was evident that the coronavirus was something “unprecedented”. Naïvely, I expected the virus to be “over” or “wrapped up” within a couple of weeks. I thought its duration would somehow follow the path and framework of an average PR nightmare. Under that guise, I planned on processing everything once the virus had concluded.
But the pandemic persisted and remained present. Time and memory stretched and melted. I lost sense of what had happened, what was happening, and my thoughts relating to it all. By November, I realized that I could not wait until the pandemic was “over” to start processing and remembering.
Concerned with memory and time’s progression, the four-signature book is designed to record a specific period of time, December 2020 and January 2021–the last days of 2020 and the first days of 2021.
The signatures are sewn into an accordion spine. A “mountain” fold divides each signature. Between the two sections is a larger, taller “mountain” dividing the days of 2020 and 2021.
The cover is made from unprimed canvas. I painted and sewed into the canvas to create lines that cross from left to right referencing an incline or a mountain as well as repetition and the diffusion of light. A white sun or moon peaks over – either rising or setting.
On December 1, 2020, I set about remembering, reflecting, and translating. I recorded daily cases, news of the vaccines, and my lingering and new anxieties. I ruminated and drew odd scenes.
The practice of writing and drawing in this book each day became a routine which gave me a sense of time, progression, and place.
Now “complete”, the books operates differently. It still offers me a sense of time, but it also holds experiences and memories in what would be described as a “personal archive”.
When so much of our lives are lived online, this book of daily tracking, listening, and digesting is a material manifestation of personal memories which may have otherwise been lost or allocated to a digital device or social media platform. I find that incredibly enticing and empowering. It is evidence and witness - free and independent of the digital technology’s influences.
To view more images of Two Months, Two Years, please visit the gallery page.