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TOGETHER APART
LIFE IN LOCKDOWN
When COVID-19 hit Melbourne harder than a runaway tram, our lives changed – literally overnight. Together Apart is a black-and-white coffee table book that gives a rare glimpse into life in lockdown in Melbourne, Australia. It beautifully captures the isolation, frustration, hope, humour and human need for togetherness that quickly became part of our daily lives.
What started as a conversation over the back fence to break the solitude of lockdown has grown into a friendship and a partnership between portrait photographer Jude van Daalen and her next-door neighbour, journalist Belinda Jackson.
Photographed, written and printed in Melbourne, Together Apart features 60 portraits of people in their neighbourhood: the lollipop lady waiting for the children who never come, a chilling experience of a COVID ward, the families separated by borders. We also hear, in their own words, from the café owner serving up both caffeine and counselling, the students dreaming of returning to their classrooms after six months of homeschooling, and the children rediscovering the rainbows, ancient trees and fairy gardens in their streets as the world slowed.
The Headstanders
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our project to capture this unique time in our lives.
Like so many others, I felt more isolated than I’d ever felt before. I needed connection, and taking these photographs was a way to reach into our community and bring people together, so I started documenting life in isolation in Melbourne’s first lockdown, in March 2020.
As a photographer, I also know how important it is to document the human experience – in good times and bad. By letting us look into their own lockdown for just a moment, the people in these photos have connected us all more than they could ever have imagined.
Why not order a copy to hold onto your memories?
Coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic, quarantine, 2020, isolation – these are words that will sit with us forever now in a way that stirs up emotion.
The whole world stopped.
For those of us who were lucky enough to stay well, and not lose loved ones – there was a collective breathing out, followed by revaluation of priorities in life. The world changed. Those who lived it will be stirred by the words; but images and stories remind us of just how different everything became virtually overnight.
Our grandparents tell stories of hardship, and the differences in today’s world to theirs – and yet we have so few images to bring those stories to life. I am so grateful to have this gorgeous historical reminder to reflect on myself and to pass down to future generations so they too can have the opportunity to really explore how life changed for the world in 2020.
It is a privilege and joy that Jude van Daalen captured my memories, my story, and my beautiful boys to be part of this amazing collection. All of the images and stories though will remind you of your own journey in 2020, in different ways.
Life will go back to normal – a new improved normal. This book is a glorious reminder of why.
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1 FOR $79
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Jude’s idea for her “Life in Lockdown” project was fantastic and having her document my daughter and my time in isolation was very special for us.
Jude’s photos are spectacular and tell each story perfectly. Having this beautiful book portraying so many amazing stories during this crazy time will be treasured for a long time.
Thank you Jude!
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Author Biography
Jude van Daalen
Jude van Daalen is a portrait photographer working from her studio in Melbourne’s west. She has over 15 years’ experience telling stories through photography, translating those experiences into gallery-style artwork, and has established her book imprint and art brand, Van Jude. She originates from Utrecht in the Netherlands, where she also had a thriving photography studio.
See themelbourneportraitstudio.com
Author Biography
Belinda Jackson
Journalist Belinda Jackson has worked as a features writer, finance journalist and currently specialises in travel. Originally from Melbourne, she’s visited every continent, and lived in three. Trips of a lifetime, she’s had a few, from playing piano on the sea crossing to Antarctica, hiking through ancient olive groves in Palestine and dancing in Russian nightclubs. When the world is not shut down, she is a columnist for The Age/Sydney Morning Herald’s Traveller section. See globalsalsa.com