This is a marker sketch I did during Covid. Visually it's a science fiction piece, but really a symbolic representation of my circumstances during the pandemic when my wife (now ex) and our two cats were living in a 600 square-foot condo in Salem. The forced togetherness and isolation made us feel as if we were living in a tiny spaceship.
We decided to move to a bigger place, and found a property we could afford, in Gloucester.
The preparation for moving during an ongoing pandemic made us feel like we were adventurers heading to some alien planet, not knowing exactly what we were going to end up facing, but feeling that we could face almost anything together. It was stressful and challenging, but there was a feeling of solidarity. This first image represents the hopefulness and adventure of that upcoming move, settling in a new and alien place.
We moved. Two weeks later, my wife blind-sided me by telling me that she was leaving me, and about two months after that, she did.
That was two years ago. After dealing with divorce, pandemic and death I decided to rework the image. This represents how I have felt the last two years, even more isolated, like I had been abandoned on an alien planet.
