#MyPandemicStory: youth create portraits of a pandemic at ROM

This is a Barbie™ that I designed a PPE outfit for using a blue rubber glove. I was inspired by my Mom who is a Registered Nurse. 

Since masks cover my mouth, you can’t see it. I want people to know I’m always smiling under my mask! 

This is a sculpture of my Papa and me. We had to air hug to keep each other safe. I like real hugs better. 

During the pandemic, the park was my only outlet to feel like myself. It gave to me room to breathe. 

As a student, I have certainly felt some sort of emptiness having a lack of seeing my friends. You almost feel disconnected at some points. 

No one turns their camera on, so this is basically what it's been like during class time. It has been hard not seeing people's faces. 

Eyes are so important during the pandemic, when masks cover our faces. Despite our identities and appearances, one look into our eyes reveals that we are all human.

My pandemic story represents what was unleashed on the world in 2020. These are the memories that I will have from this time in my life. 

During the pandemic I started questioning my gender and sexuality. I’ve found comfort in the LGBTQ+ community, and I’m happy to finally say that I am nonbinary. 

This piece represents being trapped at home, where my house is a cage. During the pandemic I've gotten into wire bending as a coping mechanism for my stress.

The constant news about xenophobic attacks negatively affected my mental health. I created this piece to show that positivity always overcomes ignorance.  

I wish we could escape to space and have the cookies we've always wanted, especially during the pandemic. As a low-verbal autistic, I communicate feelings through texture and colour. Painting is my space cookie at this time.

I captured the essence of Baroque still life paintings with modern ‘essential’ items. I want them to feel present. Important. They were so valuable during this pandemic. 

In 2020, I began working at a long-term care home for adults with disabilities. This poem honours the residents who passed away during the pandemic. 

I used this self-portrait to express and work through some of my emotions during the pandemic. It represents the ongoing fight with my demons.  

The hands represent how the media is killing us, and the plastic is being stuck in a bubble. The colours represent how we are losing our beauty. 

Throughout the pandemic, racism has become an even bigger problem. My art shows the psychological and emotional effects of hate. The leaves represent hope.