The New Normal

Text by Achim Szymanski

Lockdown, elbow-shakes, hotspots, social distancing, hygiene regulations, mandatory mask-wearing – this virus has not just changed our daily lives, but also our language. Masks are some of the tools to curb the spread of the virus. How is life with them? And how do they affect our communication?

When you look at Thailand, masked people were already part of the daily scene in the streets, everyone also participates in the measures to rid oneself of the virus without being asked and with discipline.

It can be quite diverting to walk around in masks – it makes you slightly inscrutable, somewhat invisible and almost always mysterious. But sometimes, masks do get a bit annoying in day-to-day life.

When you look at Thailand, masked people were already part of the daily scene in the streets before Covid-19. The Thai people took wearing masks as opportunity to protect themselves and integrated them in their daily life without any hassle – the female Santa is synonymous for that, a woman wearing Santa clothes disguised with a face mask at 35° degrees outside, adopting a festive season though Thailand is a mainly buddhistic country. This images outlines the incredible candour and serenity of Thai people and their ability of resilience without being dogmatic.

The aim of this collection is to present pandemic evidence for future generations in the form of a visual time capsule.