Ileana Hernandez

The Body in Quarantine

Oil on Paper

24” x 18”

While staying at home and being confined to the limitations of socialization, a person is left to think about how control over our own bodies is being challenged during the Covid-19 pandemic. While being under quarantine, some people are choosing to ignore the risks, not listen to research and go about their day. Some people are choosing to stay at home, wash their hands, and take control of their surroundings to make the best of an unknown situation.

In this piece, the forms of the figure twist and intermingle to form an uncomfortable mangle of flesh that seems to relate to the challenges of controlling the immediate environment and protecting one’s body. The pandemic has changed the way that humans look at their own physical structure and how we deal with disease. We cannot ignore the importance of our body as a vessel. We need to remember it can be a carrier of disease and spread it to others easily. We also need to remember that the human body is fragile and one unalterable event can lead to its demise.