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Welcome to your very own Isolation Handbook!
Lockdown has been tough, but we’ve all discovered
our own unique ways to make it a little brighter…
Here’s a compilation of the amazing submissions that
we received. This pocket guide is busting with helpful
pages that you can turn to when you need a pick me
up, a creative challenge or just a place to reflect.
Each of these ideas is tried and tested by a real-life
person who felt it worthwhile sharing.
So, all we ask is that you give each page a go.
The activity you think isn’t really your style may
surprise you and be exactly what you need.
What is there to lose, eh!
The book is sectioned off into three chapters:
Mind, Body and Soul. (it sounds mystical, but
you’ll realise when you flick through that
we’re just trying to sound a bit fancy!)
Now, go create! Connect to yourself.
Be playful but most importantly, Enjoy!
“Having been sat in the same room day after day
during lockdown I found it calming to draw objects
around me.
Often drawing things that I am familiar with
gives me great comfort, as does repetition and
drawing the same things over and over.”
– Hester Ellis
Lockdown can make us feel like were being closed in, surrounded by
clutter and stress. But your space is filled with beautiful things. Look
around your room as though it was a treasure chest.
You may notice your hairbrush on the dresser, your funky bed
spread, or a pile of old DVD’s stacked on a shelf.
See how they are placed. Think about what each thing means to
you and why you’ve kept it. Sketch whatever catches your eye and
makes you ponder!
Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram @harrisyoungproducers with the
hashtag #theisolationhandbook
Prior to lockdown I had been struggling with severe anxiety
which has had a profound effect on my life. Simple activities
such as short walks and everyday tasks were always difficult
and rarely completed.
During lockdown I have been able to embrace the
quietness and solitude of the outdoors and able to carry out
everyday tasks. This has given me the opportunity to relax and
appreciate everything that we have already in the natural world.
I decided to illustrate a subject every day that I saw on my daily
walk relating to nature. I have been painting with handmade
charcoal ink on mulberry paper.
Nicole has found beautifully shaped stones
while walking coastal beaches and laid them
over family photographs to make a connection
between her home and family in Ireland that
she couldn’t visit. The layering of the stones
creates a new set of characters that allows
the mind to roam and create new stories.
What objects remind you of home more than
anything else?
First, find an old family photo or print a new
one out, then look around your house for
meaningful or interesting objects to lay over
your pictures.
Make some pictures!
Upload them to Instagram with the hashtag
#theisolationhandbook
“Memory is a delay.
Memory is a fragment.
Memory is of the body that passed.
Memory is the trace of a wave
goodbye made with a slightly
clenched fist.”
Robert Morris, 1994
How do we read memories?
My practice seeks to explore processes of memory
and remembering, reflecting and drawing ideas from
nostalgic material from my family.
Working with multimedia processes I create
works of abstraction and suggestion set in spaces that
trigger feelings of familiarity in the audience.
The processes of abstract marking, texture built through
layering, and its residual traces, aim to
depict confusion and ambiguity.
I worked in collaboration with my grandfather, using
his equipment, his memories, to create pieces. As his
memory gradually worsened, the work mirrored him;
gradually becoming more deteriorated. Where I can, I
will use materials I have found throughout to make the
work; through reclaiming old furniture, old photographs
and equipment, to using found and weathered material
as the base to the pieces.
These discarded, often forgotten about materials
reinforce themes present throughout my work.
I push materials and work with them in quite unique
ways depicting abstract expression of process and
thought: these are individual depictions or moments
where the audience are invited to apply their collective
memories to the pieces.
The idea of the home has become more prominent as
a place to make work from but also to exhibit in; these
domestic settings reinforce individual memories of
times in my home that create.
Let the R.A.I.N. cleanse your mind with Tanya
We loved hearing how Tanya has been reflecting on
her thoughts and feelings whilst on daily morning
walks by using the R A I N method. Isolation, and
having limited contact with others, can cause our
minds to cloud over with overthinking, but this simple
method may allow you to shed some light on what’s
really going on inside, and leave your mindset clearer.
Give it a try!
ecognise the issue
llow the feelings to arise
nvestigate the cause of your suffering
urture your feelings.
My work is quite gothic and fairy-tale like,
and I thinkthrough lockdown, this has only
become more emphasised. As my practice
has developed over the past year, I’ve delved
far more into surrealism and still life.
To maintain a healthy working routine Ellie has
been dedicating her time to her artwork “I set
aside whole days to simply sit and my desk,
move around my room and make”.
Ellie likes to keep her thought processes
fresh and exciting by taking normal photographs
and manipulates them with a range of digital
processes, until they become something
completely different from what they once were.
To keep a healthy mind, it’s important to be
playful and carefree sometimes.
Life doesn’t have to be serious all the time!
Try this; cut out the images at the dotted
lines and create your own compositions
on the next page.
No wrong answers!
A big coping mechanism for me was focusing on my
work. I was lucky enough to maintain my job through
these hardships which is a huge privilege that I know
a lot of people didn’t have this year. I can’t talk much
about the work I do due to NDA’s but it’s a creative
one where I can use my brain a lot to distract myself
from feeling anxious.
Of course, this attitude can quickly lead to
burnout and it did at some points, especially during
the struggles had with moving.
During the lockdowns I have felt really lonely, I live
with my partner so there’s only one other person and
I have worked from home since lockdown began.
As someone with a long-standing history with
social detachment anxiety it has been tough and I
have been left to face my “demons” head on for
almost a year.
We used to live with others, however this came
to an abrupt end when two of our other housemates
moved out towards the end of the first lockdown.
The landlord said we would have to leave too due to
a family needing a home. The position we were in
meant we had to give away our two cats which was
incredibly heart-breaking.
We moved house into what we thought would
be our next home to find that the house we had put
a deposit down for had a rat infestation and was unfit
for inhabitation. It took two months (we paid full rent
and bills for this time) for us to be allowed to leave
the contract.
I’ve always been a doodler. But since Lockdown
I’ve noticed I’ve been doing it A LOT more often.
Sitting on a Zoom webinar, my hand would just
start free drawing across my notebook, and I’d
think, ‘Man, I’m so rude’ or ‘Wow. I clearly have
zero concentration levels anymore. WHAT HAS
LOCKDOWN DONE TO MEEEE?!?!’…. I later
discovered I was being a tad dramatic when I
read an interesting article and learnt all about….
Look at this watercolour.
Let your eye wander, and doodle wherever
you see something popping out at you.
There is no right and wrong, just give it a go
and see how it makes you feel!
THE TOP 3 BENEFITS OF DOODLING :
It can calm you down.
Yep! Doodling is often described as
Yoga for the Mind.
It allows you to connect to the present
moment and throw out some of those
busy thoughts clouding up your brain space.
It improves your focus.
(It’s been proven to help you
process and remember information
as it’s coming at you!)
It’s creative!
It’s not only a lot of fun to scribble
in your book margins but it allows
total freedom to be expressive, show
your individuality and communicate your
unique thoughts effectively to others.
They say a doodle speaks a thousand words, right?
Once you’re done, share your doodles
on Instagram by hashtagging
#theisolationhandbook
My art practice has really kept me going - but with limited access
to materials and space, I have been working with things found around
my home. I’ve really honed in on lumps of material that usually end
up in landfill.
The lockdown has encouraged me to make the most of
what I have, which saves money and limits waste, but also keeps me
occupied in unexpected ways! I really encourage you to take something
you might usually throw away and explore the material; consider
how you might transform it, or just play around!
This series of work, ‘Domestic Isolation, was heavily how
I navigated the first lockdown. I think, now at least, many of us
have formed routines and ways of working through long periods
of isolation at home, but the creation of this work took place at
the very beginning, back when this was all new.
The pieces act as a diary, and at the same time explore
typical household objects within a new context, pulling together
the emotion and recontextualisation that the pandemic has
caused. At the time, these work allow my partner and I a space
to vent, to think, to reflect, and a direct outlet to put that all on
to. Now, once again navigating a lockdown, I often revisit these
piece - revisit our scrawls and thoughts and rants - and conclude
that now is not as bad as then. It pushes me forward.
Spending time outdoors in nature has healed me
and enabled me to fully appreciate what I have in my life.
Taking the time to stop and reflect during the lockdowns
has made us all realise what really matters and slowing
down our pace of life is something some people may
never have done, pre pandemic.
(Tip : Set a timer to keep track)
THIS EXERCISE SHOULD
TAKE 15 MINUTES
Breathing can enhance mindfulness which helps the brain
to relax and regain focus or wind down from a day’s work.
Find a place to lay down comfortably on your back:
Make sure your neck is lengthened and your head is
looking towards the ceiling and your eyes are softly shut.
As you breath in the hands brush the floor in
a snow angel like movement stopping above
the head, as you breath out thehands reverse
as if finishing off the snow angel coming
back by your sides.
Release tension in your legs and hips.
Bring the knees up and place your feet firmly on the ground.
Breath in using the stomach pushing
the hands towards the ceiling.
Like inflating a balloon into the hands.
Place your hands softly
on your stomach.
As you breath in imagine your left knee
is floating towards the ceiling bringing
the foot lightly from the ground, as you
breath out place the foot lightly back on
the ground. (Do this slowly with deep,
long breaths). Repeat on the right side.
Repeat both sides 4 times = A total
of 4 in and out breaths).
Now imagine letting the air out of the balloon
deflating the stomach and lowering the hands
as you slowly breath out.
Repeat this finding this time place the
hands down by your side on the floor.
Repeat this breath cycle multiple times
until the time is up. (Once your time is
up, slowly open your eyes and allow the
body and mind to re-adjust to the space
around you before sitting up and
finishing the exercise).
By Dance Artist and Young Producer: Chloe Morrisey, 2021
“My mum taught me to knit with a giant
pair of knitting needles when I was a tiny child.
Since then, I haven’t stopped. When I’m busy
with life a jumper will sit half-finished in my
cupboard for months, waiting for me to pick it
up again when I’m low or bored, or out of ideas.”
“Safe to say lockdown has been a time
where I’ve picked the needles back up, clicked
away and watched as the ball of wool gets
smaller and smaller. The feeling of achievement
I get when I finish something (however lumpy
it may be) that I can wear on my body has been
getting me through this difficult period.”
Were you taught anything when you were
younger that you may have shelved for years?
Well, now is the time to revisit them!
Have another go, the results might surprise you…
“Playing Stardew Valley with my partner has
been so therapeutic for me. It’s primarily a farming
game, so you get to tend to your plants and animals,
you can also go fishing, to the pub, and interact with
the villagers – all the things we can’t do in lockdown.
It makes me feel like I have some freedom despite
not leave the house.”
– Sophie Hershaw
Here are some other recommendations of
free apps or online games you can play to
make you feel a little less isolated:
• Among Us
• Nail Salon
• 3D Subway Surfers
• Mario Kart Tour
• The Sims Free Play
• Big Farm Empire
• Mine Craft
• Skribblo.io 8
• Ball Pool
Escape Reality with Mark and Dan Parkinson
Over Lockdown Mark kept himself busy by
learning to use Blender, a 3D modelling programme.
Dan played video games to beat Lockdown
boredom and created some awesome designs.
Why not try designing your own video game character or monster below!
Nickname:
Super power:
Secret talent:
Mortal enemy:
Be sure to share your creation on Instagram by tagging us
@harrisyoungproducers using the hashtag #theisolationhandbook
This is a slide that was produced as a result of a project
I did during Covid-19. I have been extremely interested
in embeddedness into place in terms of research and
material. The womb was made from found objects that
I collected as a part of an embedding tactic that allowed
me to connect to place when I brought them back home.
To be able to reconnect to place when you’re restricted
has been a running theme during the lockdowns.
When Boris locked us indoors for 23 hours a
day, it’s fair to say we all absolutely relished
that 1 hour of outdoor exercise. But if your
anything like me, running isn’t my idea of
leisurely fun. But walking, I can get behind!
Since Lockdown, I’ve found I don’t pace along
the pavement but rather, stroll. I notice the
little things; the quirky garden gnomes in my
neighbour’s gardens, the sounds of the birds
conversating and the delicious cooking smells
wafting from kitchen windows as I wander by
on my evening walks.
And Is it just me, or did the colours of flowers
and trees look SO much more vibrant over
this past year? Maybe I was just searching for
something to brighten up my mood.
Either way, I was grateful for the colour.
In this activity, I’m offering you the change
to go for a walk and try to find the boldest 7
things that are each a colour of the rainbow.
Then take a quick photo of them and make
it into a collage like I did here!
The free picture editing website I used:
www.befunky.com
Try to stay present on your walk, search for
the colours around you and notice how it
makes you feel.
Then hashtag #theisolationhandbook with
any of your rainbow creations; we’d love to
see them!
Alea’s job as a chef is one of the busiest occupations.
From working all the time to doing nothing at all has
shown her the stillness and peace within the mundane and
showed her the “beauty of simple things like nature and
phone calls and drinking wine with my mother.
Lockdown has taught me a new definition of freedom,
and what it means to be alive”
It’s too much of a good thing.
so it’s hell,
but only some of the time.
A year has passed
and what’s been achieved?
Two million bodies
buried or burned
at the hands of incompetency.
I learnt how to paint,
gained some weight.
Went blonde for a man who doesn’t want me.
Went mad over and over again
every evening
under a tent of dirty, warm sheets.
But
when morning hit,
I went walking for the first time in my life.
Noticed the beauty around me in my slow little hometown,
birdsong sounded like joy,
trees moved like they were in love with the wind.
I danced in the living room like when i was a child,
ate Cornettos,
wrote songs about how good it feels to be free.
It feels so good
to be free.
Top Tip : Play some peaceful music
Exploring the spine - Take some time away from your technology.
Come into a quiet, comfortable area away from all outside distractions.
(Tip : Set a timer to keep track)
THIS EXERCISE SHOULD
TAKE 15 MINUTES
Start seated on the floor or on the edge of your chair
sit up tall lengthening the spine. Imagine the top of
your skull is reaching towards the ceiling.
Place your hands on the top of your thighs gently.
Tilt the upper body side to side as if
pouring water from each ear slowly.
Tilt as far as you can go without moving the lower body.
*Do this alternating sides 4 times on each side.
Drop the hands down by
your side and sit up tall.
Begin to snake the head and
upper body moving side to side
Count to 8 slowly whilst snaking.
Now take the head forwards and backwards
curving and arching the spine.
Imagine hugging a big beach ball close to your
stomach to curve and hold for a count of 4.
Come back to tall, seated position.
Now imagine trying to get your hair to touch
the ground behind you but only moving the
head and upper back to get an arch
in the spine and hold for 4 counts.
*Repeat the curve and arch 4 times.
If able then stand up and begin to
move around the space repeating
these previous steps with the
upper body, if unable to stand
remain seated and repeat these
steps in a NEW seated position
Repeat all steps until timer is up.
By Dance Artist and Young Producer: Chloe Morrisey, 2021
A Song for Every Season with Chloe Robinson
Can you believe we’ve been in isolation over all 4 seasons!
We loved hearing how lockdown has allowed Chloe to spend
some quality time with her brother and make some special
memories together.
“We got to enjoy being out in the snow again, snowball
fights, stuck in our hair and just running around enjoying it
while our cheeks went bright red with the cold.”
- Chloe Robinson
Take a while to reflect on what your favourite
memory was from each of the Lockdown seasons:
Spring:
Summer:
Autumn:
Winter:
Yin and Yang with Purple Brad
Photographer Purple Brad has been taking this time to meditate
more, practise yoga and learn about the Yin and Yang of life.
Trust
(Written by Beth Nolan)
With Yin there is Yang.
Out of darkness, shines the light.
Instability will find balance.
And after wrongs,
There will be rights.
Trust the process.
Trust the patterns.
Though there is badness, there is still good.
Once believed, you’ll hold the key to unlock
Inner peace, true courage
and love.
Date Night with Josie Eckersley and Grant Boyne
Lockdown has meant we are spending a lot more
time with our house mates. It can put pressure on relationships.
That’s why Josie and her boyfriend Grant, have been
having a date night each week, making an effort to wear a
nice shirt/dress, to play games and music. It made us feel
some normality and spend some quality time together – even
if we were both working in the same room everyday – it just
gave us an escape.”
Fill up this silhouette with meaningful reflective words that make up who you are
A few recent sunset pictures I have taken.
Something that has been keeping me going throughout
lockdown. The fact that I know, and can be certain
of, that each day the sun will rise and will set again.
Sometimes I take the time just to watch the colours
change across the sky and it reminds me of the natural
beauty of the world and what it means to be alive.
Whatever time it was, it never seemed to pass.
I spent most of this neverpassing time sat on the windowsill of
the room where I lived my childhood, caged in a golden retreat with
the lonely company of imagined contacts, those left behind, those
missed, those expected.
“Everything that glows sees” wrote Bachelard in his “The
Poetics of Space”. If that's true, it means that we can be seen all the
time, it's enough to just look at the glints of light out of our windows.
Just look outside to not be alone, and in case there are no glints
to be found out of your window, I thought that a small, pocket glint
could work as a decent replacement, you can hang it on the wall as an
indoor glow, which always looks at you, and never leaves you alone.
Is it just me, or are you totally done with staring
at screens? The moment I’m off a Zoom call
I quickly close my laptop lid. However, after a
while of sitting solo in my silent room, I could
sense that lonesome feeling creeping in....
That’s when PODCASTS came to the rescue!
Here are my personal favourite podcasts as well as
a few recommendations by you guys sent in over
HYPe’s Instagram! (@harrisyoungproducers)
For The Nosey Parkers:
Grounded with Louis Theroux
Reasons I like them:
I can close my eyes and still be engaged.
enjoy !
I don’t need to chat back!
No dodgy Wi-Fi difficulties will occur...
It doesn’t cut off at 40 mins (Cough, cough. Zoom.)
I feel connected to the outside world as soon as I hit play.
For The Music Lovers:
Desert Island Discs
For The Calm Seekers:
Happy Place with Fearne Cotton
For The Laughter Needers:
Sh**ged, Married, Annoyed!
with Chris and Rosie Ramsey.
For The Foodie Makers:
Off Menu
with Ed Gamble and James Acaster
For The Advice Takers:
The Girls Bathroom
with Sophia and Cinzia
Beth started to buy herself flowers to brighten up her
house during lockdown, which inspired her to start
pressing and preserving them in resin, then giving them
to her friends as gifts.
“I would associate receiving gifted flowers as a staple
of achievement but in 'rewarding myself' and altering
the space I was inhabiting; I created a sanctuary. It
reminded me that getting through each week was an
achievement in itself! And somewhere between the
soft breezes of perfume and bright colours, I found
comfort. It was a productive way to wind down whilst
doing something kind for the people I loved - a huge
serotonin boost!”
Why not go and buy a bunch of flowers (you deserve it)
And then press one between this page of the handbook
to keep as a reminder of all you have achieved during
this time. Be kind to yourself, you’ve done amazingly.
Make sure you are in a safe open space and you are
comfortable enough to move freely.
Put on your favourite music and dance like no one is
watching. (Do this alone or involve the family or friends
for some extra fun).
Start off slow with a peaceful song you know or one you
find that makes you feel good and relaxed.
Start moving around the room in what ever way you
choose. Walking, skipping, crawling, galloping, dragging
your feet etc…
Start to add more energy, maybe increase the
speed of your travelling or travel in a new way
that you have not tried before.
Now choose a fun energetic song
that you get excited by!
Sing along to it, Have fun with it
Move around your space and be as wild as you like.
Note: This is just for fun so be open to try new
ways of moving. You may move like a slug, like
a horse, like a cat, like a lion, like a mouse etc…
or you may move like a ballerina or like a hip hop
dancer etc.., (Make noises if you like!).
Most importantly! HAVE FUN!!!
Move until the music track
you chose is over.
By Dance Artist and Young Producer: Chloe Morrisey, 2021
We would like to say thank you to the wonderful artists who worked
with us during this project and made the isolation handbook possible!
We’d like to thank,
Danielle Rhoda for the artwork for the cover of the handbook. (@danielle_rhoda)
Rochelle Asquith for the artwork for the Mind title page. (@rochelleasquith)
Obi Carter or the artwork for the Body title page. (@vampyr_studio)
Efea Rutlin for the artwork for the Mind title page. (@wip_efea)
With a huge thank you to Amrit Randhawa (@taxicabindustries) for using your
amazing creative and design skills to help the Young Producers achieve their
design goals for both the PDF and printed copies handbook!
A special thanks to the Harris Museum and Art Gallery (@harris_museum) and
Blaze Arts (@Blazearts_) for supporting the Harris Young Producers!