COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyone’s life for sure. And as we were hoping to leave all this behind in 2020, this year hasn’t shown any signs of improvement. As we live in this ‘ New Normal’ we grieve while remembering all the mundane things we took for granted before. From buying groceries, dating, working and playing, everything took another turn, and nothing feels the same as before.
During that period of quarantine, people were doing everything they could to deal with the stress and isolation. Among them is Irina Blok, who started creating a corona diary series of cartoons that illustrated what she was feeling during that time, and a lot of them were relatable to people worldwide.
When Earthwonders contacted with her, Irina explained how it all started. “Since pandemic and lockdown started I was cooped up at home experiencing a mix of impending sense of doom and boredom. I found drawing as a way to blow off some stress and share laughs with others. I work (from home) as a designer during the day, and spend my nights drawing. One day, I just grabbed a piece of paper and started doodling, and I wasn’t able to stop ever since.”
Quarantine gave people to be as creative as possible, where a lot were participating in virtual challenges, creating something, learning, cooking or doing all kind of stuff just to pass the time in the best way possible.
Irina as well explained where she got her will to keep working. “I get inspiration from daily news, doom scrolling and everyday life. Simple everyday tasks have changed in the most shocking ways, for example going to a grocery store is now a nerve wracking experience, like you are in a pacman game and trying to avoid the virus (I made a cartoon on that).”
“Initially I wasn’t sure if cartoons were relatable to people outside of San Francisco, but when I published them on my Instagram they quickly became viral and were translated to more than 30 different languages. I am hoping the drawings could help bring some light to this dire situation and we’ll see the end of the pandemic soon,” added the artist for Earthwonders.
Scroll down for some super relatable comics which will make you definitely like and follow her work.
More info: Instagram | irinablok.com
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