During the month of May, while sheltering-in-place, I created 41 pages in a banana-leaf photo album with some of the ephemera from our trip to Asia in 2010. We explored everywhere between Komodo National Park to Lhasa, Tibet. In between was Bali, Borneo, Singapore, Hong Kong and China. Each page took 8-10 hours. In the evenings we would reminisce about the memories from the page that I had created that day.

For ten weeks my body has hardly left the suburb - or my residence. But through books my imagination has flown free on a series of colourful adventures. I've survived the Black Death and hostile tribes, visited Napoleon in his final exile, hunted a serial killer at the Roman Games ... all without leaving isolation.

I live in a tiny apartment, but at least is home and i find out to survive in these hard times.

During the lockdown in Malta and Gozo, it has been allowable to walk for exercise and this is the walk I have taken on most days. It starts downhill but the track up to Fort Chambfray is a great heart attack hill

I miss going out and just using basic things as google maps. My house which during initial week felt like a box soon expanded as a space. It became my new world. I realised going from one location in my house to another itself can be seen as a journey. Each room served a purpose similar to how spaces outside are. My kitchen was the newest trending restaurant, my new office was my once neglected desk etc. Similar to google maps, there were routes and paths with more traffic than usual. Therefore, decided to map this moment literally.

this style of book is called a “lotus fold” and it very much reminds me of a folded map. i wanted to make this one into a diary of this time. the peaks and valleys of the book mimicking the highs and lows of my emotions.

seeing a story that the earth is slowing healing itself while we have been hiding away, a HIGH.

my mom learned that an ER doctor she had worked with contracted coronavirus while saving other people. while i’m thankful my mom had just retired before this all started. that was sad to hear. a very LOW.

a HIGH was watching people band together in the beginning, like on 9/11. people helping each other. quietly waiting in line outside the grocery store and letting the older people know they could go to the front of the line without anyone grumbling.

a friend of mine announced he was looking to rehome his dog because his financial situation was affected by the pandemic. everyone was trying to convince him to find another solution. that was a LOW day.

Mariana Trench is deep, very deep. Still, plastic and other types of litter are found on its seabed. Quite disheartening.

Every morning, as I wake up and cross the corridor of the floor, I feel grateful to be able to enjoy a magnificent view of a small part of the capital. Daily pleasure.

Just as this season reminds to be thankful for smallest parts of my life, so I begin to notice the tiny beauties living close to my home: vibrant flowers, jack rabbits, snail trails.

Where and how I spent my quarantine days, during the corona virus lock-down. My desk with my artistic stuff, a lot of books to read and illustrated books, my two cats and my window view.
My confort corner.

Some key points I kept in notes when I was reading this book last year. As I wanted to make an old fashion map and was looking for a suitable topic, I found them back. Perfect synchronicity.

Some of my refuges during this period: study, inner exploration, introspection. Doing what I really mean to do. As the time seems to slow down, these activities become like rituals, and days end up very busy.

#mappingthismoment

I am autistic: I cherish and suffer daily from sensory overloads.
During quarantine I've managed to lose myself in creative works - but I also feel a great deal of claustrophobia resulting in a myriad of irritations!
This is an acrylic-on-paper mood board (mind-map) which I contributed to every time I needed a mental release from daily strains.
I think visually, I had no words to describe my feelings.
In this art-work (a juxtaposition of three paintings) I have described numerous irritations I frequently experience; including solitude, being misunderstood, the sounds of speeding vehicles and strong kitchen scents, what else can you recognise?
Do you empathise with me?