The white lace curtains for the artwork were salvaged from the street in Hackney Wick, East London, during the mass pandemic spring clean that took place during the height of lockdown. They begin with the words ‘Day 00’ in reference to the first official day living our ‘New Normal’ lives under what felt like a house arrest, patiently or impatiently waiting for instructions from our leaders in what actions and precautions we were supposed to be taking. The texts are based on the endlessly drilling and repetitive government guidelines on washing hands, staying at home and saving lives. Other observations include the loo roll panic and the cosmic collective consciousness that was baking banana bread and using Zoom. Composed in the midst of a global pandemic and an uprising, the narrative’s hint of darkness and ironic plot descends into heaviness, ending with a penultimate of conversations between Wilde and her long time art college friend and artistic collaborator, the artist and archivist Ego Ahaiwe Sowinski, who is now based in Minneapolis.

The two pieces with their grey texts are screen printed onto black lace, reminiscent of traditional mourning funeral veil covering, and are a reference to the unlawful murder of George Floyd, and many others, in the US and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests that took place following Floyd's killing. They speak about the importance and the power of ‘Stillness and Silence’ from the maddening world around them. So much noise – white noise. It is hard to hear yourself think. There is contemplation, reflection, and gathering of thoughts within the silence. This was a direct and hard-hitting response from Wilde to the inherent institutional racism and what now appears the scrambling of panic-written empty statements that were issued by many people regarding BLM. The question that kept going around both the artists’ heads was WHY, WHY NOW? WHY NOW?

2020 VISIONS

WHAT DO WE WANT?

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

We need new strategies not more tragedies

AND WHEN DO WE WANT IT?

NOW!

The final piece of work is a direct ‘Call to Action’ written by Ahaiwe Sowinski in response to Wilde’s request for the two to collaborate on a piece for the disCONNECT project. The powerful chant, evoking the sound of protest, in the tradition of call and response, is an extract taken by Aida from Ego’s initial written piece (which was also on display in the ‘Pandemic Panic Room’ Installation in the exhibition) and is adapted to its final state for the hanging banner. Based on discussions, the piece refers to the need and demand for systemic change and the end of state-sanctioned police violence.