Dear Reader,
With it surpassing a year since SARS-CoV-2 has entered the world life has been permanently changed for those living through it. All our worlds have become temporarily smaller. During the pandemic travel, social and working restrictions have been put in place. Working remotely has become the norm for all but those essential workers. Our lives have been limited to the distance of a walk from the front door and social interactions have become even more important than before, bumping into a friend at the local store relieves the cabin fever we’ve all been pretending doesn’t exist. It has effected everyone without exemption to some extent. It has enabled some the well deserved rest they needed from their busy lives, it has taken jobs from others, split up families and stolen loved ones. There will be an end and it appears to be soon now.
As a scientist working on emerging and neglected infectious diseases based out of London I was faced with the option of staying in a small flat in London or returning to my hometown of Chichester. I decided on the latter and the first weekend of lockdown I returned back to my family home. Working on diseases abroad gives you a very different perspective on what disease is - although it is right in front of your face it feels very distant as everything around you is unfamiliar. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is very different and is happening all around us, effecting people we know and care about and changing the face of the places we hold dear. You can't keep this one at arms length.
With a keen interest in photography and an academic knowledge of infectious diseases I wanted to document with photos the changing face of Chichester, the town I grew up in, as well as the people who live and call it home as they are affected by COVID19. Although this project started off with taking photos while wondering around the deserted streets it has evolved into so much more. In the photos below I have tried to display the fantastic ways in which the people of Chichester have managed to continue their lives during this pandemic, how businesses have been able to stay open and keep functioning while keeping their clients and staff safe.
The aim of this Project is to create a photo-story of Chichester during the COVID19 pandemic which the aim of making this a free public record in photo form which people can use and reference freely. It is a continually expanding project with photos being added constantly so it isn’t finished yet. Please think of this page as a “as the story stands”, a “placeholder” for the final images.
I would like to say a massive thank you to all those who have agreed to let me in and photograph their going ons. I understand it is not easy letting, in some cases, a stranger photograph them and I appreciate the openness and trust.
Please look through the photos below and I hope you enjoy them, its certainly been a pleasure taking them.
Stay Safe,
Will Jones-Warner