CANTATAIn Covid-19 Isolation – March to December 2020 Like millions of people around the world, I went into isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic—I was in England, and chose to be away from London. I started this time of uncertainty unfurling a meandering itinerary; a brief stop in Hampshire for a few days, then on to Surrey, starting with a two-week self-quarantine, followed by the months-long stretch with a dear friend at her home. As always, my treasured titanium Contax camera was with me, loaded with black and white film. It inspired a creative call and response to the sameness and stillness, and became my photographic sketchbook and metaphorical mirror, anchoring my mind and heart during this intensely remarkable chapter. Cantata is a collection of these images—the first one taken on March 19th, on the eve of my London departure into the unknown and the unknowable. The final photographs in the first group of 20 images, were taken in early August, during a four-day sojourn in Berkshire, when I felt that I had finally fully reemerged from the physical and psychological cocoon that I had sequestered and sheltered myself in. August 18, 2020 'Emerging from a moonless night, awakened by a blackbird's song, I am the river meeting an ocean.' As the virus tempest continues into autumn, heading towards winter, and with renewed lockdown measures, I also continue to photograph the seasonal changes. As the remnants of this very unusual year are pieced together with occasional weariness, and as more promising news of vaccines and a return to some normalcy are in sight, hope still beckons. November 11, 2020 I feel that this series is done. The winter solstice was profound for me this year — it represents the pivotal point to a new year, and what feels like a return to looking outward again. December 21, 2020 'Turning towards the light, a day to change seasons, and nudge away the darkness.' Marissa Roth London 2020 2 of 33 next