Between Us: Adad Hannah's Social Distancing Portraits

A moving remembrance of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic using photographs, first-hand accounts, and augmented-reality-accessible video portraits that are at once universal and deeply personal. Courage wears many faces. On March 14, 2020, at the outset of a global pandemic, artist Adad Hannah took to the streets of Vancouver to record this pivotal moment in time. Over the span of a year he created 237 tableaux-vivants of everyday people that capture our heart, our solidarity, and our resilience. Between Us presents our shared experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic through a series of photographs, first-hand accounts, and augmented-reality-accessible video portraits. Hannah's series captures the trajectories of our experiences, from the first weeks of uncertainty in our homes, to the societal ruptures brought to the fore by the Black Lives Matter movement, to our hesitant and choreographed returns to and retreats from work and school, to vaccine rollouts. With unique sound compositions that can be uplifting, unsettling, or serene, alongside personal narratives from his sitters, Hannah's series personifies our varied emotional journeys.