Lockdown Self-Portrait by Mica Pillemer

For the first two years of the pandemic, Melbourne Australia was locked down longer than any city on earth. We were restricted to the inside of our homes, only allowed to go outside for an hour of exercise per day. Life took on a pall of monotony, with only a glimpse of something better out the window. After so much time in isolation boundaries began to blur and previously compartmentalized worlds overlapped, and intersected, intruding upon one another. The responsibilities of family life, children’s schooling, and work all combined into a functioning mess. As the lockdown extended on and on, our emotions boiled over. This self-portrait was created to stand as a testament to that time in my and all our lives.