Rencontres d'Arles is a photo festival in the South of France. I missed the last 2 years, but this year I had to go... and do something new! So, after major travel disruption to and from the festival, I still managed to bring my lockdown project* back to live: 15 weeks of tea-drinking during the pandemic is now stuck to the city walls of Arles.

Creating street-art was never on my mind, but it was a fun thing to do! On occasion I was aware that there was a dialogue on the walls; people live-posted images to the walls that would relate to each other. In the chosen picture above, I am responding to the grids of the window, the bars which signify the feeling of being imprisioned during lockdown, whilst the background image represents the much missed sensation of coming together during those weeks of solitude.

Now I am back in London, evaluating, whilst the exhibitions continue until end September. I wonder, are my teabag posters still hanging on the city walls one month later?
Each of the 15 posters had a barcode, which is leading to my website. And yes, encouragingly, some visitors to Arles are still responding - everyday there are new scans. Amazing! What an interesting way of communication with total strangers over there in France. Mission accomplished, I guess!

*Project title and link: Subject To Availability