Artist Statement: Now that we’ve lived this nightmare for over a year, the environment has begun to grow where it normally wouldn’t have. Weeds taking over bleachers in our local parks; forest lines overgrowing into our sports fields; the list could go on. Mother nature is taking over everything we took for granted. With the uncertainty of what’s to come, these areas in our neighborhoods are going to become unkept and overgrown to the point where we can’t continue to use them, even with our socially distanced outings.

The idea of life “after the pandemic” and the insecurity of not knowing what lies ahead for our new “normal” drives me crazy. I took these photos to sooth my restless mind—to prepare myself for the possibility that our new normal is going to be just what we’ve already been doing: isolating ourselves. I took a walk with my mother to my local rugby field—the aura or vibe it gave off was unsettling. I grew up playing is this field, practicing softball throws and playing on the local equipment left out as a makeshift jungle gym. It saddens me to see it all so neglected.