Images # 1 & 2
Due to public health concerns, grocery stores in Soledad, CA have prohibited people from bringing their own reusable bags & residents now have to purchase paper or plastic bags at stores. Pictured are a couple of my mom’s reusable bags that she brought from one of our visits to Michoacan. My sister is holding the empty bags and is wearing gloves. The gloves are a reference to sanitation requirements and I chose to leave the bags empty because emptiness is an overall theme of this project. The banning of reusable bags is understood and I don’t see it as an issue, but rather a small change the community has adapted to.

Images # 3, 4, & 5
The chairs and table set up are my depiction of closed communal areas like parks and restaurants with outdoor settings. Again this is a safety concern, so I have no issue with it. This has definitely impacted the way our community socializes (which was mostly done in public areas like this).

Images # 6, 7, 8, & 9
One of the most important communal activities in this town is soccer. Every weekend the parks around town are filled with soccer games of kids, teens, and adults. However, COVID-19 resulted in the cancelation of all league and non-league games. I captured some of my sisters and my own cleats around the soccer ball as a representation of this loss of community games.

Ana Mata Martinez

This project sets a scene of the current situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. I tried to create a visual of the emptiness brought on by the pandemic as best as I could.

The world has changed drastically due to the pandemic, whether it be big things or little things. I wanted to visualize how the little things in my hometown are different now.

This project is important to me because I have a personal connection to what it represents. Every city, town, country, or place in general has a unique experience with the pandemic. This project idea is my interpretation of life during these last couple of months.

Size of the project: The project fit in my front yard altogether. I’d say it fit in any average sized room.

Materials Used: 3 chairs, a table, a soccer ball, 4 pair of soccer cleats, handbags, gloves,

What kind of help/assistance will you require?
My little sister helped me for the pictures with the bag

What will be the length of this project (Will it be up for a week, permanently, until it disintegrates)?
My project at home was up for the afternoon, but realistically I’d want it to be up for maybe a week, so that more people see it.

What kind of project will this be?
This project is strictly visual. There would be no interacting with it, as it is meant to depict the lack of human activity.

Where will this project be installed?
The pictures were taken in my front yard, under other circumstances I’d envision this project at a public park.

How will the project connect to the site (and its history) where it is installed?
Public parks are a big thing in my hometown. Before covid, the parks around town were filled with people of all ages at all times of the day. Now due to the shelter in place order, the public parks around town have been empty. Sports games were canceled, the parks were closed off, benches were taped off, and gates were locked. A community that used to come together in these parks is nowhere to be found anymore.

How will this project enrich the lives of the people where it is located? This project is to remind us of the good times and fun we had at parks. In a post-COVID19 world, this project can remind us of the situation we went through, and how we should never take something as simple as a park for granted.

Aims and objectives - Why is this work important?
This project is important to me because I have a personal connection to what it represents. Every city, town, country, or place in general has a unique experience with the pandemic. This project idea is my interpretation of life during these last couple of months.