Hi there! Welcome, and thank you for visiting my online exhibit of Doortraits in partnership with Lifeline. It is our pleasure to host you.
The portraits you’re about to see were made between 17 March 2020 and June 2020, beginning during the initial stages of Australians socially distancing themselves from the rest of society.
I aimed to create a series of portraits observing the etiquette of a strange, touch-free life while taking the measure of friends, family and strangers at this time. The result was more than sixty “Doortraits”.
A common theme encountered while making these photos was the impact of COVID-19 on people’s mental health. That a physical virus can impact one’s emotional and mental wellbeing was and still is astounding, and given the importance I place on mental health I jumped at the chance to support an Australian charity which already supports Australians so well in this space: Lifeline.
Please enjoy the series, and if you can, please make a donation to Lifeline via the button below to continue their excellent work supporting Australians in crisis. This exhibition has been compiled with the love and support of the community to connect and help one another and most importantly, to help those in need.
A connection can save a life.
Cheers,
Jim
Click on each photo to enlarge (recommended!)
Joss, a project manager in Glebe, had already spent three days socially distancing himself: "I hope it's no longer than it currently is. You don't realise the importance of human connection until you have to deprive yourself of it.”
Bondi. While not symptomatic, Danny was tested for COVID-19 as a precaution after he hosted the wedding where an estimated 40 people were infected. He was expecting to get the results back the day we made this photo. They came back negative.
Novak, Newtown, is self-isolating out of choice. As a musician, he's lost weekly DJ gigs and festival slots for the forseeable future.
Alexandria. Pat's using this downtime to work on his photography book, spanning ten years of parties and clubnights across Sydney, working through hundreds of thousands of photos til 4am. He'd just woken up for this photo, at 10am: "Real photographers wake up at midday.”
"It's going to be interesting to see how this all pans out - surely there's something good that has to come from this.” Hugh, photographer, Bellevue Hill.
Lea, publicist, Marrickville. “I told work that my self isolation look would be me in lush loungewear, doing a sheet mask and carrying a glass of wine."
When I asked Kendra, a stylist, and her partner Cristobal, a sound engineer, to be part of the series, she responded with laughter: "If I can hang my head in disappointment on my stoop?? All my shoots and events got cancelled today... freelance is a very scary time.”
Dom, Lewisham. “I feel very fortunate that I'm able to keep working from home - the commute to my office is very easy. These are really tough times for so many people. Even though we're separated, I just hope I can be as supportive and helpful to my mates right now who need it.”
Natasha, newsreader. Her daughter Georgia had just endured dental surgery. "She loves the camera and having her photo taken and this will hopefully make her happy while she's stuck inside!”
Momo the business cat, Rozelle. "He's not done a lot of work today - just slept on the job, really. Still wants to get paid though, of course.”
Amy, producer, Annandale: "Maternity leave has prepared me for this moment.”
Karina & Will, Wahroonga, are adjusting to life inside with three kids under 8. "It's incredibly difficult homeschooling kids who are only just learning to read, as we can’t rely on the virtual distance learning that high schools provide.”
Wes, photographer, Surry Hills. While he’s lost most of his work in the last week, he’s excited to spend more time with his new fiancé who's now working from home too. His dog Scrooge is just excited to have his humans around full-time. “Finally a chance to clear out my office, something I’ve been making excuses around for the last five years. And scan in all that old film.”
Ange, comedian & journalist, Redfern. When asked about how she's feeling: "Oh I'm fine, it's just a generalised dread, really.”
Sunday Gus, consultant, Vaucluse. "I'm very fortunate to already WFH in a flexible job one or two days a week, so going full time at home isn’t a big change. It’s a weird, almost guilty feeling to have made it this far relatively unscathed when there are so many people doing it tough in retail, hospitality and the arts, but there’s a knock-on effect impacting everyone I know.”
Paul, former pilot, Wahroonga: "I flew my last flight yesterday, and that's the last flight I'll make, I reckon. If I have to go out and fly in Japan or Azkhabhat, so be it.”
Lucy, reporter, Darlinghurst. "I've just done my weekly shop. I'm being super frugal right now because my tenant lost his job and can't pay rent.”
Craig, videogames marketing, Erskineville. "I’m much better today as I did some exercise this morning - the endorphins made me feel better. Last week I was a shocker. I'm worried about family overseas.”
Ruben, Lifeline crisis supporter, has been stepping up his shifts with Lifeline on top of working a full-time job elsewhere to help deal with the unprecedented caller demand, as well as for his own self-care: "Being on calls gives me perspective and appreciation for what's going on in my own life.”
Colin, Lifeline CEO, Clovelly. "A large part of my role is being out and about asking for support from a variety of stakeholders - it's a little harder to do that from your own home though, which is why I'm glad we've got these photos to help reach Australians and ask for their support. Every dollar counts right now and our staff are stretched thin.”
Kitty Allure, burlesque dancer, Stanmore. "It's been nice to throw on a full face and dress up for this. I've lost all my gigs in the foreseeable future - June is supposed to be the next one, but who knows at this stage.”
Laura, advertising, Corona House. "This is exactly how I woke up this morning [laughing]. This building has been getting papped quite a lot recently.”
Ali, producer, Camperdown. "Is anyone else getting a little bit snippy? I'm getting a little bit snippy... just a bit short tempered. Like in my head I'm like 'Do I REALLY NEED TO BE IN THIS FUCKING ZOOM MEETING". I meditate, medicate and exercise so I'm not sure how to get rid of the snip... am I going to be a *total* c*nt after lockdown?
Vyvyan, social media, Stanwell Park. "To be honest - our lives haven’t changed much... except for the mental load of Coronavirus and the extra time organising things that we thought we’d not have to think about - like finding toilet paper.”
Mark, production, Georges Hall. "I've been out of work since the new year, so flipping bikes has been keeping me busy. I set fire to the garage by accident recently - that made things interesting.”
Stephen, CFO, Northbridge. "We've got one daughter going back to school today after six weeks inside with us and she couldn't be happier to go.”
Dan, Kiki and Tilly (L-R). "We're working during naptimes - thankfully we get a few hours in the middle of each day; the rest of the time we're keeping eachother (mainly Tilly) entertained. She keeps saying 'beach is closed, park is closed, cafe is closed' but seems pretty happy to be hanging out with us.”
Ada, Tess, June, Edmond (L-R). Edmond & Tess welcomed their second child the same week Australians began self-isolating: "We're glad it was the second kid that we had under these circumstances. It would've been a lot harder if it was our first time around." Edmond to June: "Show us how you sneeze!”
Keren, Debbie, Zara, Jonno, Zac, David (L-R). Jonno and Keren returned home from the UK to get married in Sydney - as did the rest of his family. "We've postponed it until later this year - hopefully. Almost all of us are working from home, but some of us are doing foreign hours so we're up all day and night. It took about six weeks for us to settle into that.”
Wendy, CEO of Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury in Gordon, has been in her role for many years and never has she witnessed such demand for their 13 11 14 Crisis Hotline before COVID-19. “Good Friday was our busiest day on the phones, ever, with 3,197 calls. We're just glad we can help.”
Chris, artist, Newtown. "I’m a painter, so I’m lucky to have a studio where I’ve been working on my next exhibition. Isolation for artists is nothing new.”
Dan & Steph had just moved into Summer Hill. I was their third guest: "Moving during isolation was great because it gave us a project. Something to do.”
Alyx & Micah, Newtown. "Although we haven't been able to see many folks in person, we were lucky to connect with all of them, all over the world, on our wedding day a few weeks ago. Now, when we bump into our friends on the street, we get greeted with "Congratulations!" It's a mood.”
Mark, live music venue CEO & founder, Leichhardt. "We're opening up again soon, and we're going to ask punters come to the table with higher ticket prices to make it viable for everyone. The idea of having smaller, intimate shows with your favourite bands will be super appealing to so many people. It’s a challenge no doubt but a rewarding one I think.”
Tom, booking agent, Enmore. "We were fostering Saskia before COVID kicked off, but once borders were closed we ended up having to keep her. Not like that's a bad thing, mind.”
