Most people are worried about a toilet paper shortage during the coronavirus pandemic. I am worried about a shortage of chicken and beef. I have had chronic Lyme Disease since 1991, and I eat a strict diet of either chicken or beef daily.
This enables me to stay (nearly) symptom free.
As a result of my Lyme Disease, I have a compromised immune system which makes me more susceptible to the virus, so I have not ventured to the supermarket or drug store since Los Angeles issued a Safer at Home order on March 19th.
Instead, I am relying on food delivery services. It has been impossible to connect with Amazon to fulfill an order. I have given up on them and have turned to the local supermarket. The first delivery arrived sans chicken and with less than a weeks order of beef. Luckily the peanut butter I ordered as back up was in the bag.
I am expecting the second order of groceries to be delivered this Saturday. Since I had to order a week in advance because of lack of open delivery dates, I won't know if there will be any beef or chicken in my order until the market puts it together that day.
This self portrait was taken March 2 for a performance art piece I did called "Meat Hunger", about my physical need for meat. The stress I feel as a result of dealing with coronavirus pandemic has caused my meat hunger to escalate.
As an artist, I value my hands above all the tools I use in my work. In this photograph, I wanted to convey the relationship between meat and my health
and how staying well is crucial to my art practice.