Anaina Malik:

Ground Zero. Gurgaon India. 

Relatively early in the Indian trajectory of Covid-19, the Government ordered a nationwide lockdown. The urban migrant population, living in crowded, confined conditions, lost access to food and employment. We were facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the midst of battling an unseen enemy.

Working frontline to distribute essentials and food, I was able to see firsthand the impact the lockdown had. Masses of humanity living in sub zero conditions were a testament to both tenacity and hopelessness. And I understood humanness. 

The photographs were taken with consent while interacting during these distribution drives. Through my artwork, I want to bring attention to these people and their struggles - to make  the ‘invisibles, visible’. I hope that even a viewer far removed from the crisis is able to understand and empathise with the experience and emotions of these people, and that their stories do not go unheard.