Chih Jung Wu
Shortage
Prompt: The purpose of the assignment is to practice thinking conceptually, researching, and executing a photo shoot. The photo shoot should have a cultural commentary message and an clear, cohesive visual style. The photo/s can be a commentary on the current situation with CoVid 19, or another idea that contains cultural commentary.
In the news, the coronavirus epidemic is slowing down in China, where it first broke out. However, countries like the US, Italy, and Spain are just starting to see the vice of this virus.
Since I’ve been back to Taiwan, I haven’t seen my family except for my mom. According to law, I have to self-quarantine for 14 days to watch out for coronavirus symptoms. When you’re in quarantine at your grandma’s house, there’s not much you can do, except for watching the news. The shortage of supplies and labor in the US, Italy, and Spain lead to numerous problems. Doctors and nurses are the front lines in this battle against the epidemic. They are posting photos of bruises on their faces from wearing the masks for hours of working. There is not enough medical protective clothing for everyone, so the doctors are left to use plastic bags.
I didn’t bring clothes back to Taiwan since I thought I couldn’t go out for two weeks. And there are no clothes in my grandma’s house. So I was worried about this assignment. But when I saw the news, I empathized with the hopeless situation. I decided to base my fashion styling on the topic. The photoshoot I conduct is to express the powerlessness I feel when I watch the news.
I cut up the plastic bag so I could wear it as a dress to resemble the DIY protective clothing. I drew two red lines across my cheeks to show the bruises on the doctors’ faces. When I was deciding on the background, I thought of the words I heard about getting the virus: they said you would drown from your own lungs. So I put myself in the tub.
