In early 2020, Nicholas Hill began saving pages of The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal which featured pandemic-related headlines above the fold. “As the number of infections skyrocketed across the globe, I decided to explore a daily regimen, a response to the tragedies surrounding all of us,” said Hill. He scanned the papers for people in the background of photos, and used them as the “accidental subjects” of The Pandemic Portraits. At one point in the pandemic, reports indicated that an American was dying every five minutes of COVID-19, and so Hill limited himself to a maximum of five minutes for each artwork. He numbered each portrait in the order he created them. The daily drawing ritual continues even today; Hill has now created more than 5,300 portraits.
“The effect of The Pandemic Portraits on me has been one of on-going reflection on the pandemic and its consequences on individual lives,” said Hill. “I hope that the drawings offer the opportunity for viewers to pause and reflect upon their own experiences over the past three years.”
The Dublin Arts Council gallery is on the main level of the Dublin Arts Center, 7125 Riverside Dr., in Dublin, Ohio. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month. Admission and on-site parking are free of charge. For more information contact: 614.889.7444 or email curious@dublinarts.org