COVID photo

I should have posted this image a couple weeks ago before the COVID lock down started easing in France. Although the image may still hold true as elderly people are being recommended to keep close social interaction to a minimum. From the hundreds of photos swirling around the internet since the outbreak of the virus, I find this one exceptionally strong. This image has many layers. At first glance there is the close interaction between the young girl and her grandmother, I would imagine. They are looking at each other, the girl with her young eyes wide open, and her grandmother equally engaged but with an older gaze and tired aged eyes. The girl is blowing her a kiss, something that my girls do to me. It is a strong sign of warmth and affection. Her smooth young hands are in contrast to her grandmother’s wrinkly thin fingers tightly pushed against the inside of the car door. It is as if the two want to make physical contact, but they cannot. The car window is a symbol of the virus, a kind of invisible wall keeping people a part. Finally, I notice the grandmother’s gray hair replaced by the wispy white clouds reflected in the window. They seem to follow the shape of her head, replacing her real hair with something imaginary.