Isolated, but seen and united online

AN initiative from the Ballarat International Foto Biennale team is encouraging Australians, and the world, to present their unique self-isolation experience via Instagram.

Mass Isolation Australia, using the hashtag #massisolationAUS and the @massisolationAUS account, will showcase the public’s photos, creating a digital visual archive of their time during the coronavirus crisis.

BIFB’s artistic director, Fiona Sweet said events of 2020 are “hugely significant,” so moments of life within this period should be shared.

“The explosion in smart phone technology has opened up the world of photography to more people than ever before, and we wanted to capture the COVID-19 event in a meaningful way,” she said.

“I know that photographic artists will find new ways to interpret the world right now, but I encourage anyone to submit their ideas and photographs. It’s an opportunity to find lightness, to share experiences and build our faith in humanity’s ability to survive.”

Having been in strict self-isolation, recently returning from the United States, Ms Sweet understands how lonely it can be when you’re only at home.

“It has been the digital world that has allowed me to stay connected,” she said.

Mass Isolation Australia is free and open to anyone, inspired by the British Mass Observation project which launched in 1937. The initiative is in partnership with FORMAT International Photography Festival, and Gallery of Photography Ireland.

People can tag their photos or send them to the @massisolationAUS account. Some photos will be curated by Shaohui Kwok and Amelia Saward, to be shared there and on the BIFB feed.