#coronacoping

[johnvink]

Photograph 22 out of 34 BELGIUM, Brussels. 25/03/2020: Roots from trees taken down by three successive storms in the Sonian Forest at the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak. I am 72. I should avoid social contacts because I am supposed to be at a higher risk of contracting Covid-19. The Sonian Forest, a 10-minute walk from my home must be a safe alternative to escape the pandemic. But mentally there is no escaping a pandemic. Even the forest seems to replicate what we humans go through. A succession of three storms hit the forest at the very beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in Belgium. Trees, mostly the older and weaker ones, were toppled by the wind, dragging neighbouring trees down, just like someone contaminated by the virus would contaminate another. They left a chaos of broken and intertwined branches and trunks on the ground, similar to the disparate and conflicting stream of information people were confronted with at the beginning of the virus outbreak. The roots of the huge trees were exposed, revealing their weaknesses, much like our complex human vulnerability and weaknesses of greed, selfishness and incredulity were exposed. #MAPS #Covid-19 #Coronacoping #socialdistancing https://mapsbase.photoshelter.com/gallery/Belgium-The-Forest-as-a-Metaphor/G0000OZOODSpc.GM/C0000ZXz2kpvEv2k https://www.instagram.com/p/B-qk9OQpApD/?igshid=50w97ayqhz0q

[johnvink]

BELGIUM, Brussels. 3/04/2020: Children built a shelter when playing with pieces of wood left over from the trees fallen during the 3 storms which hit the Sonian Forest at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Belgium put in place a confinement which allowed people to move around under strict conditions. One given possibility was to take fresh air in the parks, but only with family members living under the same roof and while respecting social distancing. The Sonian Forest is a safe alternative to escape the pandemic besides the confinement cocoon. The confinement rules in Belgium allow for its access, provided social distancing is maintained, and it gives people in Brussels an opportunity to escape the constraints imposed by the Covid-19 outbreak. But mentally there is no escaping a pandemic. Even the forest seems to replicate what we humans go through. A succession of three storms hit the forest at the very beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in Belgium. Trees, mostly the older and weaker ones, were toppled by the wind, dragging neighbouring trees down, just like someone contaminated by the virus would contaminate another. A second reason for the falling trees is that they can't grow their roots deep enough because the soil is too compact, as if it was stubborn and impenetrable like some human minds. The roots of the huge fallen trees were exposed, revealing their weaknesses, much like our complex human vulnerability and weaknesses of greed, selfishness and incredulity were exposed. The fallen trees leave a chaos of broken and intertwined branches and trunks on the ground, similar to the disparate and conflicting stream of information people have been confronted with at the beginning of the virus outbreak. But that chaos also creates small ecosystems, proof of a sustaining resilience. Also, the children who are allowed to play in the forest during the confinement can’t resist starting to build things, gathering branches, constructing shelters, benches and imaginary worlds. PS: all the photographs were taken with my father's camera, a Leica III dating from 1937. My father was born in 1918, at the start of the Spanish flu. #MAPS #Covid-19 #Coronacoping #social https://www.instagram.com/p/B_RMAPLpiKa/?igshid=19fjj2917qzss

[johnvink]

Photograph 41 out of 49 (we are still in confinement so I am adding a few more...) BELGIUM, Brussels. 13/04/2020: Children built a shelter when playing with pieces of wood left over from the trees fallen during the 3 storms which hit the Sonian Forest at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Sonian Forest is a safe alternative to escape the pandemic besides the confinement cocoon. The confinement rules in Belgium allow for its access, provided social distancing is maintained, and it gives people in Brussels an opportunity to escape the constraints imposed by the Covid-19 outbreak. But mentally there is no escaping a pandemic. Even the forest seems to replicate what we humans go through. A succession of three storms hit the forest at the very beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in Belgium. Trees, mostly the older and weaker ones, were toppled by the wind, dragging neighbouring trees down, just like someone contaminated by the virus would contaminate another. A second reason for the falling trees is that they can't grow their roots deep enough because the soil is too compact, as if it was stubborn and impenetrable like some human minds. The roots of the huge fallen trees were exposed, revealing their weaknesses, much like our complex human vulnerability and weaknesses of greed, selfishness and incredulity were exposed. The fallen trees leave a chaos of broken and intertwined branches and trunks on the ground, similar to the disparate and conflicting stream of information people have been confronted with at the beginning of the virus outbreak. But that chaos also creates small ecosystems, proof of a sustaining resilience. Also, the children who are allowed to play in the forest during the confinement can’t resist starting to build things, gathering branches, constructing shelters, benches and imaginary worlds. PS: all the photographs were taken with my father's camera, a Leica III dating from 1937. My father was born in 1918, at the start of the Spanish flu. #MAPS #Covid-19 #Coronacoping #socialdistancing https://mapsbase.photoshelter.com/gallery/Belgium-The-Forest-as-a-Metaphor/G0000OZOODSpc.GM/C0000ZXz2kpvEv2k https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ZAIjlplfe/?igshid=8hgv3nkpq6of

[johnvink]

Photograph 16 out of 24 BELGIUM, Brussels. 19/03/2020: Trees uprooted each other like dominos by a storm during the Sonian Forest at the beginning of the Covid-19. I am 72. I should avoid social contacts because I am supposed to be at a higher risk of contracting Covid-19. The Sonian Forest, a 10-minute walk from my home must be a safe alternative to escape the pandemic. But mentally there is no escaping a pandemic. Even the forest seems to replicate what we humans go through. A succession of three storms hit the forest at the very beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in Belgium. Trees, mostly the older and weaker ones, were toppled by the wind, dragging neighbouring trees down, just like someone contaminated by the virus would contaminate another. They left a chaos of broken and intertwined branches and trunks on the ground, similar to the disparate and conflicting stream of information people were confronted with at the beginning of the virus outbreak. The roots of the huge trees were exposed, revealing their weaknesses, much like our complex human vulnerability and weaknesses of greed, selfishness and incredulity were exposed. #MAPS #Covid-19 #Coronacoping #socialdistancing https://mapsbase.photoshelter.com/gallery/Belgium-The-Forest-as-a-Metaphor/G0000OZOODSpc.GM/C0000ZXz2kpvEv2k https://www.instagram.com/p/B-bNS_spm7b/?igshid=ev5x4a4s45f8

[johnvink]

Photograph 18 out of 34 BELGIUM, Brussels. 11/03/2020: Trees uprooted each other like dominos by a storm during the Sonian Forest at the beginning of the Covid-19. I am 72. I should avoid social contacts because I am supposed to be at a higher risk of contracting Covid-19. The Sonian Forest, a 10-minute walk from my home must be a safe alternative to escape the pandemic. But mentally there is no escaping a pandemic. Even the forest seems to replicate what we humans go through. A succession of three storms hit the forest at the very beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in Belgium. Trees, mostly the older and weaker ones, were toppled by the wind, dragging neighbouring trees down, just like someone contaminated by the virus would contaminate another. They left a chaos of broken and intertwined branches and trunks on the ground, similar to the disparate and conflicting stream of information people were confronted with at the beginning of the virus outbreak. The roots of the huge trees were exposed, revealing their weaknesses, much like our complex human vulnerability and weaknesses of greed, selfishness and incredulity were exposed. #MAPS #Covid-19 #Coronacoping #socialdistancing https://mapsbase.photoshelter.com/gallery/Belgium-The-Forest-as-a-Metaphor/G0000OZOODSpc.GM/C0000ZXz2kpvEv2k https://www.instagram.com/p/B-gZqnoK5LL/?igshid=1mmqj8h4hsy44

[johnvink]

Photograph 24 out of 34 BELGIUM, Brussels. 25/03/2020: Roots from trees taken down by three successive storms in the Sonian Forest at the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak. The Sonian Forest is a safe alternative to escape the pandemic besides the confinement cocoon. The confinement rules in Belgium allow for its access, provided social distancing is maintained, and it gives people in Brussels an opportunity to escape the constraints imposed by the Covid-19 outbreak. But mentally there is no escaping a pandemic. Even the forest seems to replicate what we humans go through. A succession of three storms hit the forest at the very beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in Belgium. Trees, mostly the older and weaker ones, were toppled by the wind, dragging neighbouring trees down, just like someone contaminated by the virus would contaminate another. A second reason for the falling trees is that they can't grow their roots deep enough because the soil is too compact, as if it was stubborn and impenetrable like some human minds. The roots of the huge fallen trees were exposed, revealing their weaknesses, much like our complex human vulnerability and weaknesses of greed, selfishness and incredulity were exposed. The fallen trees leave a chaos of broken and intertwined branches and trunks on the ground, similar to the disparate and conflicting stream of information people have been confronted with at the beginning of the virus outbreak. But that chaos also creates small ecosystems, proof of a sustaining resilience. Also, the children who are allowed to play in the forest during the confinement can’t resist starting to build things, gathering branches, constructing shelters, benches and imaginary worlds. PS: all the photographs were taken with my father's camera, a Leica III dating from 1937. My father was born in 1918, at the start of the Spanish flu. #MAPS #Covid-19 #Coronacoping #socialdistancing https://mapsbase.photoshelter.com/gallery/Belgium-The-Forest-as-a-Metaphor/G0000OZOODSpc.GM/C0000ZXz2kpvEv2k https://www.instagram.com/p/B-vqpU9pCO-/?igshid=17rsliytd790l

[johnvink]

Photograph 14 out of 24 BELGIUM, Brussels. 19/03/2020: Trees uprooted each other like dominos by a storm during the Sonian Forest at the beginning of the Covid-19. I am 72. I should avoid social contacts because I am supposed to be at a higher risk of contracting Covid-19. The Sonian Forest, a 10-minute walk from my home must be a safe alternative to escape the pandemic. But mentally there is no escaping a pandemic. Even the forest seems to replicate what we humans go through. A succession of three storms hit the forest at the very beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in Belgium. Trees, mostly the older and weaker ones, were toppled by the wind, dragging neighbouring trees down, just like someone contaminated by the virus would contaminate another. They left a chaos of broken and intertwined branches and trunks on the ground, similar to the disparate and conflicting stream of information people were confronted with at the beginning of the virus outbreak. The roots of the huge trees were exposed, revealing their weaknesses, much like our complex human vulnerability and weaknesses of greed, selfishness and incredulity were exposed. #MAPS #Covid-19 #Coronacoping #socialdistancing https://mapsbase.photoshelter.com/gallery/Belgium-The-Forest-as-a-Metaphor/G0000OZOODSpc.GM/C0000ZXz2kpvEv2k https://www.instagram.com/p/B-V4-UaJxta/?igshid=apjqfkiuy2ui

[johnvink]

Photograph 17 out of 18 BELGIUM, Brussels. 21/03/2020: Trees targeted to be cut down in the Sonian Forest at the beginning of the Covid-19. I am 72. I should avoid social contacts because I am supposed to be at a higher risk of contracting Covid-19. The Sonian Forest, a 10-minute walk from my home must be a safe alternative to escape the pandemic. But mentally there is no escaping a pandemic. Even the forest seems to replicate what we humans go through. A succession of three storms hit the forest at the very beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in Belgium. Trees, mostly the older and weaker ones, were toppled by the wind, dragging neighbouring trees down, just like someone contaminated by the virus would contaminate another. They left a chaos of broken and intertwined branches and trunks on the ground, similar to the disparate and conflicting stream of information people were confronted with at the beginning of the virus outbreak. The roots of the huge trees were exposed, revealing their weaknesses, much like our complex human vulnerability and weaknesses of greed, selfishness and incredulity were exposed. #MAPS #Covid-19 #Coronacoping #socialdistancing https://mapsbase.photoshelter.com/gallery/Belgium-The-Forest-as-a-Metaphor/G0000OZOODSpc.GM/C0000ZXz2kpvEv2k https://www.instagram.com/p/B-dvS1JJ7zS/?igshid=12b5sek6luyva