Quarantined

Alessio Slominsky - Quarantined

As the title suggests, this image looks back to the year 2020 when Covid changed lives across the globe. Slominsky has found a gay, romantic angle on the boredom of quarantine isolation, showing a man being serenaded by his neighbour across the street. The singer shows his unrequited love by his song, no doubt, but the fact that he's wearing nothing more than his guitar says more.

The scanty dress of both men might also be attributable to the weather, because this is Catalonia in Spain. The flag draped over the adjacent balcony is the symbol of the independence movement there. Balconies are very significant in Spain, traditionally used to protest. The yellow ribbon on the balcony above the singer is the symbol adopted by Catalans to express support for the politicians who were prosecuted by the Spanish government (also in 2020) for conducting an 'illegal' referendum on the proposal. Quarantine for them meant prison.

A New Year brings new hope for less turmoil and suffering in the world.