I started to work on this photographic project in order to make the invisible danger of viruses and the food manipulation visible in an abstract and artistic way, during my time of self-quarantine and isolation.

In times of the corona-crisis everyone tries to protect themselves from the virus. In stores everywhere we see workers sanitizing the shopping carts and the consumers wearing face masks and latex gloves. The question on everyone’s mind as we face the corona crisis, is how we can boost our immune system to stay healthy. We buy a lot of different vitamins and other nutritional supplements to be well-prepared for the virus war. But how much are we aware of the other many health risks and dangers of processed food?

In the 18th century, people used toxic compounds to color candy and to make it more pleasant for the eye. Leafy greens looked fresh thanks to copper vitriol and aniline colors made the gills of dead fish glow red so intensely as if they had just been caught. Nowadays the vegetables are grown on mass plantations and treated with pathogenic pesticides. The meat comes mostly from a factoring farming industry, where antibiotics are used to make the animals grow faster and to keep them alive under unsanitary conditions.We excessively consume fastfood, cheap meat and the nice-looking fruits and vegetables without knowing how dangerous these products are for our health.

The coronavirus is not only changing our lives dramatically but it also puts us in a new position where we have lots of time to rethink many aspects about our lives. Perhaps we will be more aware about our unhealthy habits and the danger of over processed food, and we will choose a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle to make us strong to fight other future problems.