Pandemic Boston

By Suzanne Révy

During the past year our lives have been transformed. The abrupt halt to “normal life” has left us feeling isolated and anxious as ominous news gathers like storm clouds. As with life’s events, art can offer transformation, too. Since the start of the pandemic, six Boston-area photographers have taken measure of the empty landscapes, the cautionary words, the adaptations and reflections of solitude that define the scope of our lives. The photographs of Edward Boches, Juan Murray, Jeff Larason, Lou Jones, Margaret Lampert and Coco McCabe are on view in “Pandemic Boston” at Panopticon Gallery through January 31st, 2021. 

Edward Boches “Pandemic, Day 20” from the series Somewhere Along the Curve, Boston in the Age of the Pandemic, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.

Edward Boches “Pandemic Day 16” from the series Somewhere Along the Curve, Boston in the Age of the Pandemic, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.

Juan Murray “Renaissance” from the series Isolated, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.

Juan Murray “Evidence” from the series Isolated, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.

Edward Boches spent the spring riding a folding bike around Boston, stopping to make pictures of astonishingly empty urban spaces. Recording and numbering each day, Boches creates rhythm from day to night as he navigates a city that used to be teeming with crowds. The occasional figure heightens a sense of something amiss. It is hard to fathom that the pandemic will pass, and things will get back to something resembling normal; in time, Boches’ images will be a unique record of this moment in history. Like Boches, Juan Murray uses Black & White to photograph the barren metropolitan environment but he employs vertical formats, deep shadows and stark light to emphasize silhouetted figures trapped within geometric spaces. His work recalls Ray Metzger’s use of late-day light in concrete jungles to create a weighty sense of buildings overwhelming lonely figures. The work functions effectively as a metaphor for the burdens we are all carrying through the time of Covid-19. 

Jeff Larason “Restaurant, Cambridge, MA” from the series Signs of Covid-19, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.

Jeff Larason “Restaurant, Dedham, MA”  from the series Signs of Covid 19, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.

Lou Jones “Construction Site” from the series Everything Stopped, Nothing Stopped, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.

Lou Jones “Music Video” from the series Everything Stopped, Nothing Stopped, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.

Jeff Larason’s small prints focus on the cultural shift revealed by warnings that businesses use to comply with State orders to maintain social distancing and reduce the risks of spreading the virus. Several of the signs are hand-written, personalizing the willingness among businesses to keep their communities safe despite economic hardships. The messages seem hopeful and emphasize how individual efforts form a collective moment. Lou Jones, on the other hand, photographs businesses in action as they adapted strategies to fight the virus while trying to maintain a semblance of normal day-to-day life. From the screening apparatus at a construction site to monitor workers, to the production of a music video with masked up dancers to a socially distant graduation party, Jones reveals how humanity adapts and celebrates the small victories of work and play. 

(Featured Image) Margaret Lampert “Gaylan” from the series Let Nothing Come Between Us courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.

Margaret Lampert “Gina” from the series Let Nothing Come Between Us, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.

Coco McCabe “Tatts” from the series The Ancestors, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.

Coco McCabe “Wedding Dress” from the series The Ancestors, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.

Two women take a more interior view of the pandemic. Margaret Lampert makes portraits looking from the outside-in through windows, incorporating hints of interior space with the exterior landscapes surrounding the homes or workplaces of her subjects. The layered portraits expand the notion of the “environmental” portrait while creating a connection between viewer and subject across a barrier. There is a sadness in the portraits that mirrors the sense of loneliness so many of us have been feeling these past few months. Photographer Coco McCabe mines her archive of stashed, forgotten boxes while stuck at home, discovering ephemera, relics and photographs from her personal history. McCabe re-interprets family lore in richly hued, still-life diptychs that juxtapose past and present. At a time when so many have felt lost, McCabe’s domestic detritus is wrapped in a sense of continuity, offering the reassurance of past generations with a glimmer of hope for brighter days. 

For more information go to the Panopticon Gallery or Pandemic Boston