Steph Alderson

Artist Statement

Covid-19 has taken over our lives in 2020. We are faced with cutting ourselves off from our loved ones, restricted on our movements and many find themselves out of work. The uncertainty is overwhelming and there is no escape. It’s the only news we hear and read about, in newspapers, on the television, social media and conversations we have.

My poster is designed to show some positivity to the crisis. Help people to think of things other than how bad the world is. I was inspired by Posters for the People. A campaign and collaboration of artists to bring smiles to the world. I found Morag Myerscough’s work striking. The colours are uplifting and eye-catching and the message is one of gratitude and positivity.

When thinking about my design I felt I wanted to inspire hope and a reflection of the good things in our lives. The rainbow has become a symbol of hope during this crisis and features predominantly on the poster. We often think of NHS workers and carers as the heroes of the pandemic, they most certainly are! However, there are many more key workers, putting themselves at risk to keep our economy going, providing essential services and goods, care and protection. My poster reflects as many of these, from postal workers to bin men, emergency services to transport staff. I want to thank them all! My poster is a gentle reminder to the public to be grateful and respectful to our frontline workers. While the majority of us conform and respect the regulations, and indeed show our appreciation each Thursday evening, there are a very small minority who don’t. They break the rules, spit and abuse staff and behave in opposition to our goal – to get through this together. My message is clear, we thank you frontline staff.