Place Postcards: Our Season of Isolation
Readers from around the world capture the pandemic from their perspective
Welcome to Issue 5, where we are looking through the lens of people in isolation all over the world. The pandemic is by definition global, and there have been few events in our lifetime that have simultaneously impacted our sense of place. From lockdown measures that restrict movement outside the home to the psychological caution exercised knowing that the invisible virus could be on any surface, the space we inhabit has been altered in ways big and small. We asked people in 14 different countries to share a photo and a reflection on a place that has changed since COVID-19 hit. The responses range from finding solace in a terrace garden in Oslo to the shuttered doors of a mosque in Accra; from a package quarantine entryway in Chicago to the silent streets and skyscrapers of metro Manila. While there is a sense of grief for the way our spaces were, there is also a sense of resilience in the new normal. We hope their contributions invite you to reflect on the places that are meaningful to you. If you’d like to share your own thoughts, drop us a line: placeletter@protonmail.com
With many feelings, mostly good ones, The Place editorial team
Pooja Sivaraman in Mumbai, India
“This park in the heart of Mumbai is usually filled with power-walking aunties and couples perched on sea-facing rocks for a secret smooch session, but since lockdown has been eerily emptied of its daily visitors. I’d go to Priyadarshini Park for my daily run here at sunset, and now try to catch a peek at it through locked gates. However, being situated in one of Mumbai’s many ‘red zones’, it’s now surrounded by cops who will stop you from lingering outside it for too long.”
Farah Bahgat in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
“I pass by my favourite place, the restaurant where I worked, almost everyday on my walks. It breaks my heart every time. It was where friendly locals got the best ramen in town. I miss my coworkers, regular customers and, obviously, the ramen.”
Michaela Morgan in Camdenville Paddock Newtown, Sydney, Australia
“Having a community garden just a street away from my tiny studio apartment has always been a source of joy. Early morning visits before work to water the kale and aubergine I’m growing at the moment is both meditative, a lesson in patience and eventually, a delicious meal. Since March, we’ve had to create a roster for separate visits and hand sanitiser hangs from the trees - but this little green supermarket in the middle of the city is a place I’m so lucky to belong to.”
Adi Menayang in Chicago, United States of America
“The entryway in our unit. It hasn't looked the same since the coronavirus... our bench where we usually sit on to put on our shoes has acted as an extra shelf for food (and we almost never leave the house anyway), and David uses it to ‘quarantine’ packages because he read somewhere how the virus stays on cardboard for a day.”
Konstanze Nastarowitz in Hamburg, Germany
"The sofa in my new apartment - a spot where I would usually lounge, read or watch series online. Since coronavirus turned my new apartment into my new workspace, this comfy corner has also transformed into a makeshift little TV production set where I shoot a documentary for my work as a journalist. What this photo does not show: The other half of my room is now a chaotic jungle of every piece of furniture and belongings that did not quite fit into the film’s aesthetics. "
Ida Zalk in Oslo, Norway
“Gardening on the balcony helped me reclaim my space after the changes the corona virus brought to my daily life. Learning my housing lease was cut short, working from home, and living alone are challenges that were balanced by the satisfaction I found in making my space more alive.”
Jacinta Molina in Santiago, Chile
“Since the social unrest began last October, the Baquedano metro station, one of Metro’s busiest stations and located at heart of the protests erupted last year, was shut down for over six months. It was reopened in early April just for changing lines inside. The photo is from the day the station was reopened for public use on April 8th. Normally full of passengers in rush hours, since the COVID-19 emergency began in the country by mid March and lockdown measures were taken in some areas since then, the use of public transportation has dramatically decreased in the country’s capital as this photo shows.”
Rabiu Alhassan in Accra, Ghana
“That is the Nii Boi Town central mosque in Accra. The doors of the mosque remain shut, which is so unusual in the holy month of Ramadan. And simply because of the coronavirus spread situation in the country.”
Karis Hustad in London, United Kingdom
“The Parkland Walk is one of my favourite escapes in London. Two miles of trail along an old railway, shielded from the bustle by leafy elms and towering poplars, allowing me to catch my breath when the city gets to be too much. I still get my daily allotted exercise along the Parkland Walk, but just when I think I’ve managed a momentary escape from the stresses of the pandemic a sign above reminds me that access to these places is now a privilege, kept only by keeping my distance.”
Aileen Macalintal in Manila, Philippines
“Sunset at the Manila Bay peeks through Prism Plaza known for live entertainment, banging nightlife, and weekly fireworks from nearby Mall of Asia. Now the music is gone and lights are dim, except in some casinos and outsourcing hives that fear no virus.”
Ani Oganesian in Moscow, Russia
“I’m not a diligent runner, but I started running again during the lockdown. My favourite spot for doing that is this area near my apartment on the outskirts of the city that looks at this blue building. It is perhaps the ugliest building in the neighbourhood and yet feels the most real compared to the elite residential area just across the river from it. It makes me think of how life goes on no matter which side of the river you are on.”
Anne Ulrikke Bak in Copenhagen, Denmark
"I believe the thing I've spent the most time on during lockdown is sewing. I had just moved into my new flat when this all happened and at the point where we were told to quarantine I established this work station first thing. I've been sitting here hours and hours. I move around more freely now but for many weeks the steady sound of my Janome was the only thing that kept me sane.”
Isabella Pacchiano in Padova, Italy
This is the view from my dining room window. Through this window I've seen shutters open and close each day, I've seen the old lady across the street sit to catch the last bits of the sun's light in the late afternoons, I've watched those trees in the distance gradually grow leaves. This view has made me feel both, comfortable and uncomfortable with my circumstances, but, I am thankful for it.
Kylee Pedersen in Cochrane, Canada
“Coming back to Canada from the UK, I’ve been isolated in my mom’s basement. It has a sliding door which opens up onto a pathway by the Bow River, a coursing waterway that carves a path from the Rockies, through the wildcat hills and out onto the prairies. As Spring presses forth and the meltwater from mountain meadows finds its way to her depths I watch the water level grow higher and higher. Will we be drowned? Or carried away?”
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