I have been asked to write an article on the current crisis from the perspective of an artist and a former NHS worker, how the lock down influences my art practice. The obvious reference would be how as a former hospital nurse and care worker contributing to helping the vulnerable in my community and pulling together at this time of crisis.

Six weeks into the crisis I feel we are seeing and hearing many heartwarming stories about exactly this, as we should of course. However what I wanted to focus on here, are the many other important stories that often get overlooked during these times. Sometimes what is seen as a minor less relevant news article is but part of a big and equally important global picture.

One of the things you learn as a nurse is to look at the small signs, the unspoken, the things that may seem insignificant in isolation but together tell of a bigger story.

With this in mind I am drawn to the story of the crisis of the queen bee, its own battle with a virus known as chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) and the subsequent knock on effect this has to world crop pollinators and ultimately our food supply. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/foreign-queens-give-bees-an-epidemic-of-their-own-xw70gl9qd

I thought this a timely article to illustrate how this message connects to my work and current pieces in particular. (Illustrated below)
Anyone who has seen my work or website will see I focus on patterns and systems in the outside world, often the macro from further afield such as the mountains, valleys, turbulent waters. However, today as I am confined to the lanes, streams and wildlife of my own back yard I have a different focus, the micro.

Arguably not as dramatic, not the headline we can’t ignore but the smaller article sending its own message. The message is still the same, we are all part of a beautiful and powerful eco system, and today more than ever we are being reminded just how fragile it is….