I chose to use my mom as the primary subject for my main portrait. By having her don her work attire and hold a basketball with the “halo” behind her, I attempted to draw a reference to the role of frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the widespread loss of innocence experienced across the world as a result of said pandemic. The basketball was intended to provide a dichotomous element to the picture when contrasted with the medical coat (childhood versus professionalism), and the halo to further strengthen the simultaneous connection and disjunction between the two. To expand further: I wanted to convey how the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to confront reality, and the struggle to hold on to youthful optimism and hope regardless.
