Last Breath of Joy - Kim Hurt

Photograph
16" x 20"
 
This piece deals with themes of isolation, danger, and a desire to cling to something precious from the past. I wanted to ask the question what are you left with when the world falls apart? Can you truly be happy despite your circumstances? I was inspired to make this piece by my own anxiety and depression during the pandemic and the slow climb out of it.
 
I used an old fashioned gas mask to evoke the idea of the pandemic and being surrounded by danger. The hose running down to the container with the rose gives the feeling of a person drawing life from the one thing of beauty they have left.