Gillian Wearing Lockdown exhibition view: Maureen Paley, London, 2020 © Gillian Wearing, courtesy Maureen Paley, London / Hove

Lockdown: a word that’s more familiar to most of us now than it was this time last year, and one that’s laden with personal and collective meaning. Taking the word as both title and subject, Gillian Wearing’s latest show at Maureen Paley, London is at once a deeply personal revelation of the artist’s creative response, and a wider, more complex meditation on self and the time in which we now live.

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The artworks – a series of new self-portraits, a wax sculpture (Mask, Masked), and a video work (Your Views, 2013 – present) – are displayed in two rooms between which visitors’ movements are choreographed by notices on the walls prescribing physical distancing.

Lockdown Portrait 3, 2020 by Gillian Wearing, framed watercolour on paper, 39.5 x 31.5 x 2.6 cm © Gillian Wearing, courtesy Maureen Paley, London / Hove

Lockdown Portrait 5, 2020 by Gillian Wearing, framed watercolour on paper, 39.5 x 31.5 x 2.6 cm © Gillian Wearing, courtesy Maureen Paley, London / Hove

Wearing’s self-portraits, made in watercolour, are a product of the prolonged, enforced isolation brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. A departure from the photography and videography she is famous for, these small-scale paintings bespeak the self-reflection, both literally and figuratively, which Wearing’s lockdown precipitated. ‘Having represented myself in photography both as myself and as others,’ Wearing writes, ‘I wanted to see how paint and even the manner of painting could change my appearance.’

Untitled (lockdown portrait), 2020 by Gillian Wearing, oil on board 30.5 x 40.5 cm © Gillian Wearing, courtesy Maureen Paley, London / Hove

It might be a new medium but the paintings bear all the marks of the artist’s best-known work: the tensions between public and private, between our inner and outer selves. Think ‘Signs that say what you want them to say and not Signs that say what someone else wants you to say’ (1992-93): the police officer whose card reads ‘HELP’. Here, it is Wearing’s own quizzical eyes staring over the viewer’s shoulder, lost in thought, her hair tied up or loose, torso loosely sketched. How do we construct our identities, these pictures ask, how do we perform them?

Read more: British artist Hugo Wilson on creating art from chaos

Mask Masked, 2020 by Gillian Wearing, fabric mask, wax sculpture, steel rod and wooden plinth, 56 x 14 x 10 cm © Gillian Wearing, courtesy Maureen Paley, London / Hove

Mask, Masked underlines this question in fleshy three-dimensions. A severed hand reaches skyward, holding a life-like mask of Wearing’s face, eyes removed to reveal the wall behind. Over the mouth and nose is a second mask, reminiscent of the now ubiquitous face coverings worn in public spaces. An impossible masquerade ball attendee, the uncanny sculpture makes manifest the layers of concealment, of fiction, at play in person-to-person interactions, another layer added by the culture of the pandemic.

In a second room, Your Views, Wearing’s open-submission video work, brings together short clips of contributors’ ‘views’ from homes throughout the world, revealed when curtains or blinds are drawn back. Using footage taken during lockdown, including the ‘clap for carers’ celebrations, Your Views is a collage of lived experience. Rather than examine a face, this time the viewer tries on others’ masks, looks out onto the unfolding world. You might not see yourself in Wearing’s lockdown, her artistic response to its solitude, but the artist demonstrates your response has been creative too: your views are here, you are not alone.

‘Lockdown’ by Gillian Wearing runs until 25 October 2020. The exhibition is open by appointment. For more information visit: maureenpaley.com

Tom Cornelius

One of the beach suites with a private pool at Alphonse Island

Keith Rose-Innes is an environmentalist and globally renowned fly-fisherman. Having first travelled to the Seychelles as a fly-fishing guide, he is now the Managing Director of Alphonse Island, where he continues to promote sustainable travel. Here, he speaks to Chloe Frost-Smith about falling in love with the Seychelles, building an eco camp and his predictions for the travel industry after lockdown

Keith Rose-Innes. Credit Nick Kelly

1. Your passion for fly-fishing has taken you all over the world. What has been your most memorable moment from your travels?

My first trip to the outer atolls of the Seychelles is still my most memorable travelling experience. Google Maps didn’t exist in the early days and we would arrive with old nautical charts. It was incredible knowing that you could be the first person to guide a fly-fisherman on that particular flat, and that you might discover an incredible spot at any time and then personally, name it for guests to experience in the future.

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Sustainable tourism provides the opportunity to form partnerships that can protect places such as these. Unlike many other fly-fishing driven conservation efforts, we have never been focussed on solely protecting the marine environment; we have also contributed equally to the protection and preservation of the terrestrial ecosystems of the outer atolls. The Alphonse Fishing Company, Blue Safari Seychelles, Islands Development Company and Island Conservation Society have joined together to form a partnership to manage and execute strategies and projects to protect the species and environments through means of public funding, which is collected via donations and fundraising initiatives. These funds are then donated to the foundations of Alphonse, Farquhar, Cosmoledo and Astove. These are specific to the individual atolls to oversee the funding of the projects operated by the Island Conservation Society. Each destination has a weekly presentation that provides a detailed update of the progress the various programs are making and also provides the opportunity for guests to discuss the environmental topics with qualified environmentalists and marine biologists.

An aerial view of Poivre Island, one of the Seychelles’ outer islands

2. Other than the obvious, what made you decide to settle in the remote atolls of the Seychelles?

I cut my teeth as a fly-fishing guide in the Seychelles 22 years ago and guided full time for 17 years before co-founding Alphonse Fishing Company and now our latest initiative, Blue Safari Seychelles. The years I’ve spent promoting and establishing the remote atolls of the Seychelles as one of the world’s best saltwater fly-fishing and ecotourism destinations have been the best years of my life. Although I travel extensively and have a second home in South Africa, my real home is on the remote atolls of the Seychelles. If I had to hang my hat anywhere in the world, it would be in the Seychelles. Living how I do comes with obvious perks, not least of which is access to the various incredible ecosystems on my doorstep. I have been lucky enough to be the first to fly fish and guide trips to numerous of the now well-known outer atolls of the Seychelles. Many would call it pioneering, but I see it as school fees. I know the outer atolls of the Seychelles so well and I love every day that I get back out on the water.

3. What was the inspiration behind Cosmoledo Eco Camp, and do you have any plans to create similar concepts anywhere else in the future?

The purpose of the Cosmoledo Eco Lodge is to establish sustainable ecotourism in line with the Blue Economy, as well as to conserve and monitor the area. One of the most important reasons for the camp is to have a year round presence monitoring the environment to deter foreign, commercial fishing activities which have been taking place. During the months from May to November when the Eco Camp closes to guests, a team of Island Conservation Society rangers and scientists stay on location with our skeleton crew to monitor the area.

The temporary and minimalistic camp was constructed with recycled containers that were retrofitted in South Africa, shipped to Seychelles and then placed on plinths and opened up to form a front deck and back bathroom. The entire container is covered with a sail to create shade and cover from the rain. It’s a concept that I hadn’t seen done anywhere else and echoes a sense of responsibility as almost everything used in the building was recycled.

The feeling you get when staying in a very comfortable, air-conditioned and full glass front container is unique. It’s almost like the cabin of a ship placed in a nature wonderland. The bird sounds, untouched vegetation and view over the lagoon are incredible. The main central area is a tent that is placed on the sand and placement of the camp was selected where there were foundations from buildings erected in the past. The entire camp can be removed completely without leaving any trace of humans behind.

A beach villa at Alphonse Island

4. What were the main challenges of turning shipping containers into entirely eco-friendly pods?

Initially, it was difficult to imagine how we’d fit all the necessities in such a small space, but once completed, we realised how little you actually need. The next hardest aspect was fitting everything onto three barges [for transportation] and building the camp in only 21 days. We couldn’t fit all of the necessary furniture onto the barges, so we decided to build some it on site from the recycled pallets and timber, which were used to brace everything inside the containers when shipped.

Read more: How Andermatt Swiss Alps is tackling climate change

5. How do you think travel has been impacted by the current lockdown, and what will travel look like once this period ends?

I think it’s still too soon to comprehend the outcome as we are only starting to feel the far-reaching ramifications of a total lockdown of the worldwide tourism sector. It has affected our business immensely as we have hibernated all islands. We are, however, in a strong position and we will open up when things are safe to do so.

My outcome is somewhat positive as smaller to medium-sized private hotels should excel and especially, in destinations that have not experienced any cases of Covid-19. Hotels that have an emphasis on safety, social distancing and health protocol will be focused on.

I do feel that long-haul travel will be somewhat impacted from a health concern point of view and vacation travel may become less frequent, but as the focus shifts towards wellness it is quite possible that travellers may choose longer periods at a destination that caters to all needs, whilst avoiding busy airports and numerous flights. Without a question, there will be a renewed focus on family time, wellness, authenticity, environmentally-friendly travel, well-being and nature. After lockdown, family time will be key, which is why I believe small eco-lodges with family-based activities will excel.

A guided walk on Alphonse island. Image by Anthony Grote

6. Have you seen any positive effects on the environment during lockdown, and if so, are there any sustainable steps which can be taken to ensure these continue?

We haven’t seen any direct environmental positives that directly relate to Covid-19 other than less air pollution. There are some negatives as a weak economy prevents our ability to fundraise for the foundations that protect our atolls.

There has, however, been a huge silver-lining. My life’s work has been to try to assist in protecting these amazing places and on the 26 March 2020, the President of the Seychelles, Danny Faure, officially signed the bill demarcating 30% of the territorial waters of the Seychelles, legally binding Marine Protected Areas as part of the large-scale Seychelles Marine Spatial Plan. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative, exchanging national debt relief in exchange for ocean conservation policy co-designed by the Nature Conservancy, Seychelles Government and the World Bank. The Alphonse Group, Desroches, Farquhar, Poivre, Cosmoledo and Astove are all included in the gazette, culminating in a five-year project led by the UNDP-GEF with Island Conservation Society, Blue Safari and Alphonse Fishing Company as some of the key partners amongst others who are specifically focused on protecting the unique and pristine tropical marine ecosystems of these remote atolls. The policy designates the offshore waters up to 1km from the outer coral reefs as protected ‘Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty’. These designations seek to conserve the exceptional biodiversity and natural value of these marine areas whilst ensuring the enjoyment of sustainable ecosystem services into the future. We are blessed to have the Seychelles Outer Islands in a prestige state that has changed very little since the early days and now, it’s up to us humans to protect it.

Find out more: bluesafari.com, alphonse-island.com

‘James Turrell’ installed at Pace Gallery, 6 Burlington Gardens, London. From left: Sagittarius (2019); Cassiopeia (2019); Pegasus (2019). Photograph by Damian Griffiths

James Turrell’s practice has long centred around the manipulation of light and space. His works are designed to provide atmospheres for contemplative thought. These might be rooms filled with colourful light, an aperture in the ceiling open to the sky, or focused points of perception such as his Constellation works that were on display at Pace Gallery’s Burlington Arcade space before its forced closure and which are now viewable digitally.

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To say Turrell’s work has less impact viewed through a computer screen would be a huge understatement. The power of the seemingly floating orbs of light that feature in this latest exhibition lies in their scale, in the opportunity that they provide to sit amidst crowds of people and loose yourself within expanding colour.

Cassiopeia (2019), James Turrell at Pace Gallery, London. Photograph by Damian Griffiths

The real-life works are created to prompt a transcendental kind of experience in which the viewer is no longer distanced from the light but within it. It’s an effect that Turrell has mastered over the years through a continued exploration of technological possibilities in relation to the sensorial realm; in these latest works, the shapes are created on a frosted glass surface animated by an array of LED lights, which are mounted to a wall and generated by computer programming. The lights subtly change colour, morphing into one another so as to be barely perceptible to the viewer (notably, this is an effect which is completely removed from the digital stills of the artworks).

Read more: Why we love Hublot’s limited edition spring timepieces

That said, there is still value to viewing the work from a digital distance, but it requires more discipline. Our online gaze is programmed to be restless and easily distracted. Typically, we jump from one page, one image to the next, consuming data on a superficial level that at best, provides a sense of light relief and at worst, induces a feeling of anxiety or panic. Turrell’s practice, by contrast, centres around creating a sense of peace and internal reflection. But to allow for these experiences to manifest digitally, it requires a new approach to viewing. We suggest letting each work fill the screen before sitting back, hands away from the keyboard and just spending time looking, letting your eyes soak up what’s in front of them without expectation or “a goal” in mind.

Cassiopeia (2019), James Turrell at Pace Gallery, London. Photograph by Damian Griffiths

The exhibition presented by Pace provides only a very small insight into Turrell’s artistic world, but it’s a good introduction all the same.

“James Turrell” is available to view online until May 23 2020 via pacegallery.com/viewing-rooms/james-turrell.

3 unusual places to find James Turrell’s permanent installations

Amanzoe Hotel & Resort, Greece

The Aman Group’s luxurious hilltop resort in Port Heli, Greece is home to Sky Plain, the American artist’s first permanent installation in the Mediterranean. Like his other skyspaces, the installation features a large opening in the ceiling, providing viewers a frame through which to contemplate the Aegean sky as it subtly evolves throughout the day.

aman.com/resorts/amanzoe

Kielder Forest Park, England

On the English border near Scotland lies the Kielder Forest Park, a sweeping area of wilderness dotted with contemporary art sculptures including Turrell’s Cat Cairn: The Kielder Skyspace. Viewers enter the circular stone structure through a tunnel in the hillside to find a light filled chamber.

visitkielder.com

House of Light, Japan

House of Light is a guesthouse designed by the artist by fusing traditional Japanese architecture with his own artworks to produce a space for relaxation and meditation. Guests of the house can bathe in a tub illuminated at night by fibre optics and by natural light filtered through the forest during the day.

hikarinoyakata.com