New York during COVID — Photos are on display this month at Catapult

Catapult Creative House will be featuring an exhibit from New York City photographer Tonia Cowan starting at 5 p.m. Friday.

Catapult, at 612 Broadway in Cape Girardeau and connected to Southeast Missouri State University, will display several photos Cowan took during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in New York City. The exhibit will be on display through the end of September. Cowan will speak at a reception at 4:30 p.m. Friday to explain and present some of the work.

Cowan used her smartphone to snap shots as she walked to and from a grocery store in her Washington Heights neighborhood during the lockdown. At first, the pictures were a way Cowan could give what she called "proof of life" to her family in Toronto.

"My Canadian family were very worried, so I just started posting these every night," Cowan said. "I would go for a walk, I mean, we were allowed to go out for groceries and things like that, so when I would be outside, I just wanted them to see 'upbeat,' you know, 'I'm fine, everything is fine.'"

It wasn't long before Cowan began to see the photos as a record of what she experienced during the pandemic, and so she put them up on her Instagram feed. She said there is value in people communicating their experiences and hopes her photos create empathy because it was a near-universal ordeal.

"I happened to be in New York City, so this is just a window into my COVID experience in my city, but everybody has their own story," Cowan said.

Joni Hand, associate professor of art history at SEMO, said she has known Cowan for years and brought her photos to Catapult. She agreed with Cowan about the collective experience of the pandemic.

"All of us, students and faculty, are still suffering the consequences of the pandemic," Hand said. "I think her photos, they're kind of haunting but also hopeful in the same breath."

Cowan is a graphic designer for The Wall Street Journal and also an oil painter, but said she doesn't see a difference in the way she looks at her day job compared with her more artistic creations. She said she is a visual communicator and looks at all her projects with the same eyes.

Cowan said that sometimes it isn't until she is in the editing process that she knows whether she got a good shot. She said she goes out every day and over time the moment will suggest itself.

"You know, when you get used to looking and when you see something that strikes a chord with you, that's what you hope will strike a chord with someone else," Cowan said.

During the lockdown, Cowan said she became emotionally attached to her neighbors and as she saw them experience the pandemic, she paid attention to details. Cowan said she felt affection for the people near her, so, even in the "city that never sleeps," she felt it was comforting to say "goodnight."

For the Catapult exhibit, Cowan said she chose photos that would be surprising images from parts of the city most people would recognize; midtown Manhattan, Times Square, Central Park, all usually full of people but weirdly deserted in her photos. She also chose a few more recent shots showing people back in the park and the streets. Cowan said she felt it was important to show a "happy ending."

And, of course, Cowan brought her camera phone with her and is aiming her lens at Cape Girardeau.

"I have taken one or two and I'm hoping to get out and take a bunch. Cape will show up in my (Instagram) feed in the future shortly, I think," Cowan said.