Art will save us all

Laser 3.14, photo by Fons Heijnsbroek.

Of all the things we’ve lost during the pandemic, the most important is our ability to come together. 

Togetherness is when the magic happens, when friendships build, when love deepens. The connections that sustain us require closeness, touch, movement, and synergy.   

We know loneliness and isolation are hugely detrimental to humans, but staying apart from one another has been presented as some kind of solution, instead of an unnatural and unsustainable way of existing. The idea that people can be isolated from one another for months on end isn’t only foolish and short-sighted, it’s dangerous, and it’s making us all crazy.   

We have substituted real human experiences for the algorithms of digital platforms and content, and it’s led to a rise of conspiracy theories, misinformation, disinformation, and people turning completely bonkers. Just look around you. 

Everyone has gone mad, some in small ways, some in large ways, and some in ways that are so preposterous and so fantastical that they deserve a special mention: we see you anti-vaxxers. 

The pandemic has reinforced the universal truth that there is very little in life we can control, a reality that has been very hard to take. Cut adrift from the many things that make us and ground us, it’s been so very hard.  

How to stay sane in an insane world

How do you stay sane in an insane world? Eternal vigilance is the price of sanity, so unplug and read a book. Read many books. Phone a friend. Listen to your favourite music and dance if you can. Don’t trust your computer. Don’t forget how to have fun. Embrace art and culture as much as you can. It will soothe you, it will save you. It will save us all.  

David Shrigley