Proposal for Stillness by Josh Philpott
Pencil on paper, 2020
Artist statement: I drew this during the two years I spent shielding from Covid-19 at my mum's house in Somerset, isolated from my friends, my home, and my art practice in London. I'd called my mum in a panic to pick me up from my flat, and day's afterward the first national lockdown came into effect.
I received text messages and letters from the NHS telling me to shield until further notice. I have cystic fibrosis and CF-related diabetes, so I was considered extremely vulnerable. My mum frantically cleaned every surface in the house, her partner erected makeshift curtains to separate mine and my brother's beds in the spare room, and I started taking dinner on the sofa away from the dining table.
Everything was still. Before I'd left, I'd taken a picture of a post-it note in my bedroom that my friend Nat had written a line of their poetry on, a remnant of a collaborative art project we'd done together. They'd written "everything is sterile now" and I'd kept it because it stuck out to me for its sombre, emo vibes. Drawing it during lockdown was a way to stay attached to my artistic practice, and it suddenly became doubly meaningful in the context of isolating during the global pandemic.
Follow Josh on Instagram at @_joshphilpott_
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Proposal for Stillness by Josh Philpott
Pencil on paper, 2020
Artist statement: I drew this during the two years I spent shielding from Covid-19 at my mum's house in Somerset, isolated from my friends, my home, and my art practice in London. I'd called my mum in a panic to pick me up from my flat, and day's afterward the first national lockdown came into effect.
I received text messages and letters from the NHS telling me to shield until further notice. I have cystic fibrosis and CF-related diabetes, so I was considered extremely vulnerable. My mum frantically cleaned every surface in the house, her partner erected makeshift curtains to separate mine and my brother's beds in the spare room, and I started taking dinner on the sofa away from the dining table.
Everything was still. Before I'd left, I'd taken a picture of a post-it note in my bedroom that my friend Nat had written a line of their poetry on, a remnant of a collaborative art project we'd done together. They'd written "everything is sterile now" and I'd kept it because it stuck out to me for its sombre, emo vibes. Drawing it during lockdown was a way to stay attached to my artistic practice, and it suddenly became doubly meaningful in the context of isolating during the global pandemic.
Follow Josh on Instagram at @_joshphilpott_