My studio work this semester has been a reflection on news stories I have come across during the pandemic. I started the project in January, looking at coverage on the devastating earthquake in Petrinja, Croatia. Being half Croatian this was an event that directly affected my family and was therefore close to my heart. Due to the pandemic I could not travel there and so the only way to get an idea of what had happened was to look through articles and social media posts about the event. I was intrigued by how when people posted photos and articles of their pets this evoked empathy from the reader and got them to engage with the article. This created a tumble weed effect where I became captivated with current affairs and the juxtaposition of the portrayal of the event in the media and how the people involved relayed it on social media.
