Artwork Appreciation
Daily Life under the Pandemic 03 is a photograph by Chang Liang-I, a photojournalist who seeks to express emotions while recording life around him. This work was created in the first half of 2020, when Taiwan was facing the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, though proper prevention methods enabled people to still go out and carry on with a semi-normal life. Under the guidance of the Central Epidemic Command Center, people had to wear masks if they could not maintain social distancing outdoors. Thus, the dance hall seems to be as lively as usual, but in this “semi-normal life,” there was actually a sense of distrust and alienation among people. A plague—the ending of which is still uncertain—has changed people’s interaction and amplifies the collective anxieties in society.