These pieces were created during quarantine and were very much influenced by my experience under lockdown in New York City. I stuck to the most basic materials – printer paper, a ball point pen, a number two pencil, and a few colored pencils – as a reflection of the limitations of our current situation.
If You Only Looked Up and Ancestral Weight were both created using only printer paper and a number two pencil (though “If You Only Looked Up” has a touch of colored pencil in the top window). “If You Only Looked Up” tries to capture the feeling of being trapped indoors and searching for that lifesaving, almost angelic connection to the outside world. I created “Ancestral Weight” while looking at the African artwork in my house – mostly, masks and small figurines that I almost feel experienced quarantine with me.
Maya Renaud-Levine is a sophomore at Beacon High School, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She sings in a chorus, plays the piano, goes for long walks with friends, and inhales crime novels. Poetry and art are her favorite quarantine hobbies.