video 6’10’’, sound
The video entitled ‘After’ acts as a homage to the 1970-90s video art piece ‘From my window’ by Polish artist Józef Robakowski. The main difference is of course, the timing – I made the video in 2023, so 24 years after Robakowski, and 3 years after completion of the photographic part of the project, which is intended to contrast the daily life during and after the pandemic. In the video, the camera, both static and hand-held, follows the ebb and flow of everyday life: people walking, talking, eating ice cream, playing knife and scissor, or biking. The filming took place during a few months of routine observations from my flat’s balcony (the same flat which acted as starting point for the photo series). At the first glance, nothing that happens in the video suggests the COVID-19 pandemic ever happened, and the sunny months during the filming period bring out a sense of carefree time off (from work, school). Yet, the distance among the people walking is noticeable; there is a sense of something happening in the air. As if though the pandemic is kind of over, the habit of keeping distance is still there.
