Michelle Hamer, Keep Your Distance, Relax, We're Doing Great, 2020, tapestry, COVID, Coronavirus
Summary
Relax, We’re Doing Great explores the mixed messages and lottery of language we have been exposed to during COVID-19. Sourced from local and global leaders, warning signs and public messages the text ranges from instructional to in-denial to even epidemiologically dangerous rhetoric.
The varying backgrounds of these hand-stitched billboards reflect on the unfeasibly clear skies we experienced after a tragic bush fired fuelled summer and the lockdowns that slowed movement and industrial activity around the world.
These works connect into the hand-made, digital and 24/7 news cycle coping mechanisms - for fears and uncertainty - of this pandemic period. The power and importance of language is highlighted when experienced en masse. The repetition of the layout of these works also allows for the creation of GIFs – mimicking the flickering of LED signage.
This series brings together Michelle Hamer’s previous experience of working with language, pixilation and isolation.
