Are We All in the Spinner?

This photo is part of a Reuters slideshow capturing the life of the Hasselbroeks, a Brooklyn family during the lockdown. Caitlin Ochs’s forty photographs span from March 28th to May 6th. It’s no surprise this picture of their son Felix is the lead.

What makes the picture is its ambiguity. Is Felix being goofy, having a good time with whatever is at hand? Is he going out of his mind? Is he channeling “The Scream?” Is he calling out a world reduced to masks, face shields, windows panes and plexiglass?

To the extent the photo mirrors the strangeness we are all living through, yes, it’s all yes.

– Michael Shaw⠀
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Photo: Caitlin Ochs / Reuters Caption: From, “At home with New York City family amid coronavirus”. Felix Hassebroek wears a salad spinner bowl and makes a face during the coronavirus outbreak in Brooklyn, New York, May 6, 2020.

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