Covid Makes History

Sami Nasr from Co Monaghan, enjoying the cool breeze from the car window while out for a drive after lockdown eased

Picture of Tara McCarron from County Monaghan and a colleague working on a Covid 19 ward

Picture of road in North County Monaghan during the Covid 19 lockdown

Picture of Glenn Murphy and family from Monaghan, who ran a marathon around his house during the lockdown and raised over €13,500 for front line workers in Monaghan

‘As a big fan of embroidery I am well aware of the time that needs to be invested; I also embroider a lot in my free time. The mask has two layers and is crafted by hand. I chose the violet to decorate it for two reasons: it is one of the first flowers that flourish in spring, exactly at the same time when the pandemic has turned up in Hungary; and on the other hand it has a symbolic meaning of rebirth and hope - for fighting against the virus.’

’Both my husband and I were teleworking during the confinement. I have an equally balanced and quite busy daily routine. His workload is random but the supervision is strict, his activity on screen is being checked from time to time. However, when there are no tasks to deal with —  but you know that there would be a lot to do in your home — it can be infuriating. A solution has been found in the form of skewers. While I am working, the other screen also remains on. ’

‘I love to spend my time being creative, when it comes to decorations. That creation has been made as the centrepiece for Easter. We haven’t seen our family members for weeks now and it became a daily routine to watch the updates on the virus every day on the telly. I particularly think that our days can get much better with a bit of sense of humour.’

‘People went extreme with buying masks as soon as the pandemic turned up in Hungary, therefore I have decided to make my own ones - it seemed the only solution. I was looking for a premium quality cotton shirt that I could produce 6 masks from the back of it.

It is a poignant picture for me because Italy is my favourite country and also had to face the virus first in Europe. There is an Italian phrase called “dare una mano” that means to give a helping hand to someone. The T-shirt has just got a missing arm, literally symbolising the missing help that Italy should have received from those countries whose tourists are basically the main customers of these goods.’

‘This ironing board has become a much greater part of our daily life in the last seven weeks than it was in the previous ten years. Its height is adjustable, therefore it is just perfect to keep the laptop on it during the online piano classes my child takes, so the teacher has a perfect view not only on the posture but on the fingers too. It was worth it to buy it for this reason alone.’

Daughter is talking with her mother on phone. The mother lives in a nursing home but they managed to see each other by respecting regulations and social distancing.

During Easter a low populated local area experienced a surge of people hiking in the nearby nature even though the guidelines in Denmark said to confine at home. A resident felt provoked by the crowding of people and made a sign saying, “Go home” and put it by the road. As her neighbours were very vexed about this, she ultimately took the sign down. 

Birthday without guests! Nursing homes were shut down and visitors were denied access because of the virus. That is why Grethe Gertsen’s family had to gather outside the nursing home the 2nd of April in order to celebrate her 91st birthday. She is sitting in the window.

Every day the museum collects reports from people who suddenly feel that everything is turned upside down. Charlotte Høj Opheim-Winje is usually an orthopedic surgical nurse, but in a few days, she has been retrained to manage corona patients at Farsø Hospital. Her story is now secured for future generations.

Before entering supermarkets and grocery stores customers are encouraged to take care of each other and the employees and keep a distance. Furthermore the stores let people know that there is no reason for hoarding, since goods are still delivered every day. Signs and warnings are an important part of our museum’s documentation of a very special situation. Later on, some of them will end up in the museum’s collection. Furthermore, the museum collaborates with the Mayor’s office in order to secure decision summaries and other important municipal documents.

Empty streets and towns. People stay at home, which is also an important part of the documentation the museum is currently gathering.

Hand sanitizer, plastic gloves and signs telling you how to behave in the supermarket, including the maximum capacity of the store. Shopping is suddenly a risky business and not at all as it used to be This is currently being documented by the museum which sees the COVID-19 crisis as a unique opportunity to document history as it is happening right now. What is really important to the museum is to depict all the changes going on.

"Before", this cart was the symbol of the shopping that "had to be done" at the weekend, to the detriment of other much more attractive occupations. We dragged it a bit like a ball, and we saw in it only a utilitarian object. Now, at the time of confinement, it has become the signal for exit and adventure.

As my wife (the one from the shopping cart) is teleworking in our room called the office, I am confined to our living room, dining room… But our office, in the past life, served as: a piano room, a singing room, a computer room, a painting room and every 2-3 days, as a drying room. "Plume" and I now live in our dining / dryer room. I console myself because, in this time of confinement, ironing has become superfluous (…) so we aren’t also living in an ironing room!

My cell phone has become very important since the start of confinement because I was able to call my family, my friends ... Thanks to the cell phone, I am also in contact with my teacher. I broke my old phone the weekend before the confinement started, and I was able to buy another at the very last minute, on Wednesday when all the stores were to close at noon. I arrived at the store at 11am. Phew!

"It's my birthday. Because my Godchild Elisa is not allowed to see and hug me on my birthday, she sent me a hug by mail. I loved it."

"At my place, there’s crocheting."

"My roommates and I sewed masks and added the hashtag #leavenoonebehind. Even with the ban on assemblies, we wanted to draw attention to the plight of refugees."

"'Family rules' are supposed to keep things in order. The need for individual retreat or speech can be articulated with a red card or a 'speaking stone'."

"This pass was issued to me after being checked at the entrance to KH Nord (Hospital North). It enabled me to be present at the birth of our daughter."

No one was able to avoid face masks. Someone also put it on the statue of Edvard Kocbek, a Slovenian writer, located in Ljubljana’s Tivoli Park.

Due to movement restrictions and to more easily control the movement of people around the shopping centre, the largest Slovenian shopping centre used shopping trolleys and barrier tape to create a pathway on which custumers could move and avoid meeting each other. This was done to reduce the possibility of physical contact.

To prevent further spread of infections, the usage of children’s recreational equipment was prohibited. Competent authorities thus secured them with barrier tape.

Due to movement restrictions, closed shops and bars, the centre of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, was left completely desolated during the isolation. Almost no one was present on the square, which is a meeting point for locals and a tourist attraction.

Movement restrictions and no public transport services emptied the streets in Ljubljana’s city centre. Some took this opportunity for skateboarding practice. An advertisement can be seen to the left side of the picture, stating “Come together, by staying apart”, which is a reminder on the importance of social distancing.

Teodora Savu (b. 1996), student at UNARTE - Graphic Arts Section, second year, Master, after priorly graduating her BA in Scenography

“Even though the house of my parents is much bigger than the studio I lived in Bucharest before the quarantine, I feel like I’m in one of those big cages at the zoo, where the animal gets to live in conditions that replicate its natural habitat, but it is still missing freedom.”

Mălina Lorelei Fulga (n. 1998), a student at UNARTE - Graphic Design Department, third year, BA level.

"Unfortunately, the situation forces me to keep my apartment as my only «home». By drawing I can escape a little and place myself in different spaces that have a familiar atmosphere. Although the state I am conveying is one of loneliness and boredom, I consider it a very beneficial period for artistic development and beyond.”

Diana Grigore (b. 1997), a student at UNARTE - Department of Object Design and Visual Communications Department, first year, MA level

"The «What day is it» series is a short self-isolation diary that illustrates my personal process of adaptation in the midst of a pandemic for almost a month. It started as a university assignment and turned out to be one of the most therapeutic activities I've done during these months.

The diary consists of two parts: the first part answers the «Where am I?» question and mainly reflects the psychological changes produced by the new and much-too-different reality between the four walls where we got stuck overnight. The second is about «Where would I like to be?» and nostalgically illustrates the small, once common desires that keep invading our thoughts during these times."

28 April 2020

“Stay Home” crossed out and “No more fascism” written underneath

5 May 2020

8 April 2020

My everyday life: Multitasking or the eternal challenge of how to balance the left and right sides of the table.

23 April 2020

It was time to take the sewing machine out of ‘retirement’ and make our own protectives masks.

14 April 2020

Life in the time of coronavirus.

31 March 2020

A line for the ice cream.

1 May 2020

Dark necessities.

19 April 2020

“Living the beauty of creation through an open window makes you understand the right value of freedom.”

“Indispensable aids to my daily disinfection rituals.”

“The dew drops were invisible to the eyes, until I changed my point of view. And then I saw the magic of nature.”

“It was from my mother, wearing it meant being close to her, even if she is not any longer with us.”

“They have given me roots in the present, perception of the fresh flow of the sap, pleasure in being immersed in listening, smelling, seeing the slow beauty of natural life.”