Table Tops in Quarantine
During the period when the world was in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and flights were limited, I still frequently traveled back and forth between Australia and Japan for filming, and occasionally went to India for shoots as well. In Japan, it was still a period of 'self-restraint requests' rather than enforced quarantine, but in Australia, mandatory quarantine had already begun. I went through two rounds of mandatory two-week quarantine when I returned to Sydney.
The meals provided during quarantine were occasionally a topic of discussion, and for a food lover like me, they certainly brought a bit of stress. Although I could order delivery from outside, it felt wasteful to pay a high price for quarantine and then not eat the provided meals, so I decided to eat them without leaving anything behind. To make the meals a bit more enjoyable, I started transforming the cold food that came on paper trays, elevating it as much as I could.
Since I had my camera and a few lenses with me, I would break down each of the three daily meals, rearrange and plate them afresh, and photograph them each time in a different setting to make them look appetizing, as a professional. How does it look? Doesn’t it seem a bit more appetizing? Without any lighting equipment, I made use of everything available in the small room. Creating visual art in such an extremely limited environment required me to push my skills to the fullest. Now, it’s a fond memory.
Before & After^
