When quarantine measures due to the coronavirus reached Russia, photographer Maria Ionova-Gribina, like most people in her profession, found herself confined and out of work. But she could not afford to miss these precious moments of history, to let them dissolve in time. Now, Maria photographs Russians experiencing the pandemic in different corners of the world – from Moscow and St. Petersburg to Barcelona and Peru.
She does it in a rather unusual way – through the Internet. Here’s their story and the stories of some of their characters. “I started taking portraits in the middle of March. At that time, many people in Russia still did not believe in the existence of the coronavirus and its danger; they called it mass hysteria”. Then I decided to film people who had recovered from Covid-19 to tell their stories. But I soon became interested in other characters. I take photos via video communication – mainly Facetime or Skype”.
Photographer Maria Ionova-Gribina knew a similar method of recording before, artists use it in their projects: they take screenshots during Skype sessions, film the TV screen or use Google cameras. But in the conditions of self-isolation, this method has moved from the realm of the conceptual to the critically necessary. Because when they started canceling regular shootings, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to leave home for a long time. But life goes on. People can suffer and be sad, love and be happy, find themselves in different situations: I think it is very important to capture these moments, to preserve them.
I usually ask the hero to hold the phone or computer steady, because if the device moves, the quality of the connection deteriorates and the image becomes pixelated. Or I ask someone to hold the phone, but that doesn’t always work. There are many difficulties when shooting over the Internet: I can’t control the camera, get closer or farther, change the angle. When the Internet connection is weak, the sound starts to lag when I ask the person to raise their chin a little higher, lower, stand a little to the left or right. I have to do everything slowly, waiting for the sound to reach them. It’s like being in space.
Recently, I’ve noticed more and more posts on social media about people who are in self-isolation and want to shave their heads bald, or have already done so. Director Dasha Kuznetsova from St. Petersburg is one of them. She has been in quarantine for nearly two weeks. One day, Dasha was washing her hair and discovered that she had run out of shampoo. She decided to cut her hair because it was unclear how long she would have to stay in quarantine. If she didn’t like the new look, her hair would grow back while she was in quarantine. “But honestly, I like how it turned out,” says Dasha. “I’m thinking of continuing like this for a year. I feel like I have become more myself, I feel very comfortable now.”
When Dmitry Kostyukov contracted the coronavirus in Paris, he felt embarrassed and ashamed. He was ashamed that he might infect his relatives and become a burden to them, that he wouldn’t be able to work, that he had gotten sick before his colleagues while covering the Covid-19 epidemic as a photojournalist. “During the illness, I slept most of the time,” says Dmitry. “It was hard to concentrate on anything. I tried to answer emails and messages. I tried to read or watch movies, work on the project I had to finish, but nothing worked.” When he started to get better, I took a portrait of him. I wanted to tell the story of how he went through the disease. “Most of all, I am not worried about the virus itself, but about how we as a society will react to it,” says Dmitry. “I’m talking specifically about the process – thousands of big and small decisions made by individual people, politicians, institutions, and society as a whole – rather than the end result, which may never come.”
I photographed Daria the next day after she finished her volunteer work at the hospital in Kommunarka. She went there as a volunteer because she couldn’t stay away during the pandemic. She helped as a nurse. Her parents asked her not to go, they were afraid she would get infected, they said it was unsafe. But Dasha received a nursing certificate and plans to return to work.
Andrey was one of the first people infected with coronavirus in Russia. After confirming a positive test result, he was sent to “Kommunarka” for treatment. The wife and son stayed home for a two-week quarantine, while Andrey kept a diary of his experiences with Covid-19. When the worst was over, psychologists came to talk to Andrey, and he wondered what the consequences of his hospitalization might be. Andrey began sharing his experience to dispel uncertainty: “For example, I still see comments on social networks from people who don’t believe the virus exists. What would I like to say to other people right now? Long and happy life. To all of us!
Alexander and Nika are newlyweds. They decided not to postpone their wedding date despite the pandemic. At that time, the registry offices (ZAGS) were already closed for new applications and were only marrying those who had already applied. They were alone at the wedding – no relatives, no friends, no photographer. They ordered flowers and rings online. The flowers arrived, but the rings didn’t. When they returned home, they called me immediately and I made their wedding portrait. Alexander and Nika feel like the heroes of a utopian novel: everything that could has gone online, the connection between people is minimal, and families are autonomous, like the inhabitants of submarines.
Yana Leles was stranded deep in the jungle of Peru, a place that is difficult to reach even in normal times, and almost impossible to get out of during a pandemic. This photo was taken a few days before the evacuation.
Yana taught local children to draw. She gave them paper and pencils, and they brought her flowers. The students rushed in during the shooting. Yana wanted to tell them to come back later, but I asked the children to stay.
“I can’t shoot now, I’m sad,” Olga told me. At the time, she had been in quarantine in Barcelona with her husband and four-year-old son for two weeks. When Olga went outside, she felt both relieved and frightened: there were few people, all wearing masks and scarves, their eyes filled with sadness. Olga continues to write and translate, but working in isolation is difficult. At home, the TV is on all the time, something behind the door makes noise, falls and rolls. Every time you’re afraid to go out for a cup of coffee – you’re afraid you’ll have to communicate, and it distracts you from your work.
Dasha has her own business baking homemade cakes. During the quarantine, like every small business owner in Russia, she was faced with the question of how to continue earning money, how to survive her business as all the cafes and restaurants closed. In the end, she decided to survive on her own and help others: now anyone can order her baked goods for health workers. “Now we have started a campaign,” says Dasha. “With the money sent by our customers, we are preparing food for doctors and delivering it to hospitals where Covid-19 patients are being treated. This story with the doctors came about spontaneously, and for the second time in my life, I feel like I can make a difference, even if it’s just a little. And that it is in my power to do something, to have meaning – to give meaning to the madness that is going on around us, to create some kind of framework. In the photos, Dasha with her children – we caught the moment when her youngest child is calm and relaxed before sleep, and started shooting.
The copyrights for all photographs are owned by Maria Ionova-Gribina. For many Covid-19 patients, the intensive care unit is just the beginning of a long road to recovery. Before they leave the hospital, some have to learn how to walk and even breathe again. The impact on their mental health can be severe and long lasting.