The Covid Experience: Dispatches from Asia
[ Yau Ma Tei, HONG KONG ] Hong Kong imposes her first lockdown in Covid-hit Yau Ma Tei, around 10,000 residents are affected and 3,000 personnel deployed, including Police, Fire Services, Immigration, Customs and Correctional Services officers. Personnel with full protective gear are working in the lockdown area to secure the area. Picture taken 24 January 2021.
Dominic CHIU is an independent photographer based in Hong Kong, working at the intersection of art and storytelling. In 2017, he went to photograph the largest cave on earth Son Doong, and the work was published by the BBC. Covering the 2019 Hong Kong Protests, his photo series has been awarded winner in the Budapest International Foto Awards and was a finalist in the 2020 World Report Award.
Since the beginning of 2020, the number of Covid-19 cases worldwide has grown exponentially with no end in sight. No one has been spared the impact of Covid-19. The aggressive spread of this pandemic means we are required to spend more time in isolation and maintain a wider distance from others, even at times of great need. Occasionally, it can feel as if we are all alone in this, even though we are told that we are in this together.
With our individual face masks on, we may each feel insignificant, suffering our own personal losses behind a veil. Coping with our new routines goes beyond the compulsory donning of face masks or obeying strict social-distancing regulations. We are adapting to new ways to work, to raise a family, to love.
Look under the surface of these generalizations and you will find individual tales of profound strength and creativity. It is in these glimpses that we can see our humanity and come together in resilience.
As a precursor to our first POY Asia competition in February 2021, we would like to invite photographers all over Asia to share one image that summarises your own Covid Experience.
