Private/Public
"In quarantine, our private spaces have become public," Maffucci tells us. "We work, socialize and survive there. This leaves the public empty and desolate. With roles reversed, moments in the public sphere feel more tender and quiet. I’ve asked my subjects to photograph themselves vulnerably in their private spaces. I decorate the streets with those who once inhabited it so vibrantly. By thrusting these intimate moments into the public, I question our future. Will we soon become a forgotten posting, a torn image—a forgone warning?"
Below, eight creatives discuss how isolation has affected them.
Lead image: Isold Halldorudottir, Model/Activist
"During COVID-19, my entire meaning of comfort changed. I found myself relying on my loneliness instead of fighting it. My social life became attached to my bedroom walls, and within days something that felt so isolating became normal."
Richie Moo, Stylist
"In the middle of this pandemic, my private space has meant rebirth. Between sleeping disorders, long hours of documentaries on the Renaissance, and videocalls about the ”future," everything started to seem uncertain. I consider myself a workaholic, some people might say that stopping my daily workload is what I needed but after a week of running around my thoughts between these walls, I recognize how fortunate I am. Some days felt like a cage but now at least my cage is full of light and that is building so much endurance in myself for a whole new world."
Callum Walker Hutchinson, Photographer
"My private space has been my room and it has become my place of reckoning, silence, consideration and questioning. I’ve been forced to spend an intense amount of time with myself in these last few months while so much has been going on in the outside world. I’ve explored various parts of myself that I had previously locked away in these last months that I’ve grown such strong emotional attachments to my room and the things inside it. They have been my consistents throughout this, and have supported and comforted me during a very weird time."
Alex, Musician
"Veiled faces silently pass as I walk the quiet streets of San Francisco, without a single pair of eyes rising to meet mine. As daily news covering covid-19 related cases continue to increase with emphasis on death and suffering, an unhealthy amount of anxiety consumes the lives of so many people, including myself. Finding peace of mind in such a grim time is a hurdle I haven’t fully overcome yet. Fortunately, sharing a 3 bedroom apartment with 4 close friends that I consider to be family has allowed me to get closer each day to acquiring that peace. Whether it’s the sound of a saxophone running scales in the bedroom, onions being chopped in the kitchen, a canvas being painted in the living room, or snoring trailing from the bedroom down the hall, my home gives me comfort. Sharing this private space with such talented beautiful friends both inside and out has inspired me to find beauty within this dark period of life. Instead of longing for the good times of the past, I am trying to appreciate life in the present and look forward to the future that awaits."
Edem, Model
"Grappling with uncertainty like everyone else, yet I am still granting myself permission to tell my own story. In it, I see no boundaries of sexual expression. Only my body in service, or self despite a lingering fear of the gaze. Isolated but transforming into a better imagined me, rediscovering parts previously out of focus whilst sharing my physical aesthetic with an (anonymous) audience. Though my loved ones are far away, I am feeling fortunate to be HERE during the pandemic, realizing I have every right to take up space. Space as freedom of body and safety. That's what I'm entitled to, a renewed sense of self-affirmation."
Noah Diaz, Stylist
My private space aka my “incubator” has been a sacred environment for me to reflect, research, and honestly thirst over twitter gays. Although I appreciated finding ways to keep my mind busy, my biggest takeaway from this is how much I enjoying human intimacy whether it be from my family, friends or my next grindr hookup.
"During this pandemic my surroundings have become a mirror for me to see clearly into my own inner life. When you only have the four walls you live in and no social or work obligations to distract yourself you’re forced to ask a lot of questions. Do I like the space I inhabit? Do I feel good about the way I move in this world? Can I be doing more for myself and others? For me my private spaces have meant lots of self-reflection."
My private space is my sanctuary— where I can be every version of myself at once; where I can ruminate on the nature of life. At times I waver between feeling tenacious and passionate, vulnerable and sensitive. Home is where I process the emotions, discomforts, and pleasures of life. My inner-introvert has longed for this type of isolation. My community, family and friends remind me of the unconditional love that I bear. After months of self-reflection I look to satisfy a new purpose, new curiosities.
