Reaching Out To Humanity
Artist Name: Justina Williams, Celine Coronado, Samantha Suarez
Artist Statement
We came up with this monument to relay the message of unity and compassion across the world. Although we are all so different, we have all been living through this pandemic. Many of us have lost someone as well as been forced to struggle to survive whether it be physically, emotionally, or financially. This shared experience shows that it doesn’t matter where you come from or what you look like in the face of tragedy and sickness. We must all unite as one and come together in order to heal one another. The hospital signifies those who have been directly impacted by COVID-19 or racial injustice. The world signifies how everyone in the world is either sick with covid or battling issues that are being brought upon by COVID-19 or racism. It can also be interpreted as a global climate issue. The hands around the earth signifies everyone of different races and cultures, coming together to tackle these issues by putting aside our differences, holding hands, and working together in order to heal the earth as well as one another.
During the pandemic, Samantha experienced covid personally and became afraid of losing her life. Another fear she had was contaminating any one of her family members. This caused her to become stressed and anxious, especially because she lives with children. She was quarantined for two weeks which hindered her from having contact with anyone. She missed her friends and her family. She still felt that she had to complete school by turning in assignments on time and keeping up with additional responsibilities. While she felt alone, she often wished that she could get better so she could be around others again. This experience taught her to take better care of herself and to appreciate the life she has because life itself is short and she never knew when it could be taken from her by covid. She also realized she wasn’t alone because so many
people were going through covid without any support or guidance which caused her to empathize and feel compassion because she had gone through the experience first hand. During the pandemic, Celine became pregnant with her firstborn child. She had lost her job and was relying on unemployment as her only source of income. School had changed from in person to online which made it difficult for her to fully understand the material being taught to her. During this time, she was scared about the well being of not only her family, but herself and her unborn child. She had to take more precautions than others would have had to, like when traveling to appointments or even to the store. This caused her a lot of anxiety and stress which was not healthy for her baby. While some people in her part of the neighborhood did, others did not abide by the restrictions and regulations put forth by the government which caused her even more anxiety. Celine’s grandmother, along with other family members of hers, had gotten sick with COVID-19. Therefore, she couldn’t really be around them. She ended up moving to Puerto Rico where people are taking much more precautions than in New York. Before stepping into any facility, her temperature is taken and there is a machine that dispenses hand sanitizer as soon as you enter the building. The people on this island are working together to stay safe and healthy. During the pandemic, I, Justina, experienced a lot of anger and depression. I felt like the country was more divided than ever. I was beyond worried about my family and friends. Not only regarding to COVID-19 but to racial injustices as well. I felt like times had not changed and although racism existed way before covid, it was now being highlighted more. Though this experience has been hard to watch , many people have begun to educate themselves on the black experience in America. It has given a voice to people who have felt voice less and a cause for those who are allies to join.
Essentially, our three individual experiences tie into our monument because we all had our share of stress and worry during this pandemic. We all dealt with our own struggles, whether it be physically, mentally, or financially. Being in different parts of the world, we were able to witness how COVID-19 is impacting not only New York City, but Puerto Rico as well. As humans inhabiting the world, we are all struggling in our own way. It is important that we all come together and participate in the movement. Not only the Black Lives Matter Movement, but the movement to help heal our world and everyone on it. We deserve to live our lives and we deserve to do so without worrying when or if the next sickness or racial injustice will take it away.
