During the 2020 pandemic, many have been turning to their artistic skills to illustrate the effects of coronavirus and nation-wide lockdowns on the British public. Emily Thomas, a recent illustration graduate from UWE has used her talent to create a collection on the loneliness felt by people during the pandemic. I interviewed Emily about her latest collection and the process of creating her work.
Hi Emily, it is lovely to talk to you. What inspires your illustrations?
Over the course of my studies, I have favoured Reportage Illustration, which is the art of recording real events and situations by hand on paper. I’ve always been inspired by real stories from real people. I think there’s something amazing about drawing someone in a certain place and time, you end up with a unique captured moment that nobody else can reproduce. I have a huge interest in what goes unnoticed and unseen within current news and events. Recently these are stories from individuals like Student Nurses on the frontline of the COVID-19 Pandemic, or Dance teachers running schools and coping with lockdown restrictions. I love to fully investigate a subject by interviewing individuals and recording environments through sound, photography and drawing.
What is your favourite collection you have done so far?
I think it would have to be “Student Nurses and COVID-19.” This was a project that I began at the start of the Lockdown in March, and it provided the entirety of my final degree work. I had a friend who was working on placement at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, unpaid and unseen in the vital contribution she was making to saving people’s lives and risking her own life every day to help others. I illustrated and interviewed her in which she described her frightening experiences, traumatic emotions and fears for the future. Through my developed illustration I was able to tell her story and several others who were involved in a way that celebrated the incredible work and vitality of the NHS during this time. This project had a lot of mileage because it connected with people working on the frontline to those just like me, who might have never really read a story that tells the honest truth about what it’s like for these individuals.
What inspired you to do the loneliness collection you are currently working on?
This project has developed from experimenting with illustrating loss and absence of a partner or friend. I began to think about how people are affected by loneliness and loss of contact during lockdown. In particular, a conversation with my Mum who told me that her friend who lives alone hadn’t hugged anybody in six months. I think it’s important to share stories of loneliness and isolation on a wider scale so that people know they aren’t alone, and as a reminder for people to look out for each other. The project is still in its early stages at the moment so I’m not sure what the final outcome will be, but I’m interested in speaking to lots of people about how they feel during this second lockdown (how they might have been affected by loneliness, and what their coping mechanisms are.) Focusing on current topics that affect everyone helps me to develop illustration and how I can tell people’s stories and highlight important issues through drawing.
Emily is currently pursuing a creative career in illustration and her work can be found on her website and Instagram.