Art / art exhibition
Clare Fleming’s images of Bristol in lockdown exhibited at Southmead Hospital
Marking five years since the Covid pandemic hit UK shores, Bristol artist Clare Fleming has brought together a collection of photographs produced during that extraordinary period.
Pandemic Reflections is a newly launched exhibition in the Brunel Building at Southmead Hospital, which will stay open until late summer.
It comprises images taken by Fleming during the first lockdown of 2020, all within walking distance of her home.
is needed now More than ever
Park Street, Bristol, 2020, from Pandemic Reflections
SS Great Britain at sunrise
Clifton Wood, Floating Harbour
The series is eerily still, capturing many familiar views of Bristol but stripped of their usual kineticism; the hushed streets empty of people, and the harbour a glassy mirror, with no boats breaking its surface.
Yet within that stillness, Fleming found a great deal of beauty and hope and a greater sense of connection with, and gratitude, for her surroundings. “With doors shut, windows became important,” she suggests.
Moment of Connection
Condensation in a Recycling Box
Clifton Suspension Bridge in the mist
“The pandemic brought into sharp focus things that we might not have had time to think about before.
“In times of upheaval, we can get in a tangle between the reality of what is in front of us, and the reflections of what lies behind us.
“We need time and space to be kind and gentle with ourselves, while we disentangle and start to make sense of things again…”
Pandemic Street Art, Jamaica Street, Stokes Croft
Girl with Pearl Earring and Mask
Fear has 2 meanings
Clare Fleming: Pandemic Reflections is at the Brunel Building, Southmead Hospital, until August 31.
All works are for sale, with 10 per cent of proceeds going to North Bristol NHS Trust’s Fresh Arts scheme.
The exhibition is produced in collaboration with North Bristol Artists.
All photos: Clare Fleming
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