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Valentina Abanina
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Belarus - Vancouver
Art by Emily Honderich
Valentina Abanina story
Valentina Abanina was born in Belarus and moved to Vancouver, Canada in 2017. She is currently working as a supervisor photographer with Artona Group Inc. Valentina admires art in all its forms and actively volunteers for various cultural and arts festivals.
COVID-19: Personal Chronology
I moved from Belarus to Canada three years ago to reunite with my husband. I was grateful for this opportunity to learn more about Canadian culture and arts since art history is my educational background.
A week before the lockdown, I acted in a horror film as a background performer. Imagine 14th century Europe grappling with the plague epidemic, and I play a nurse who cares for patients dying from an incurable disease.
A month later, studying COVID-19 statistics, I realized that in the 21st century, people are no less vulnerable than in the Middle Ages. A world that just recently seemed so huge, diverse, and full of opportunities narrowed down to the size of the room in which I self-isolated.
By the second month, I understood that the COVID-19 nightmare would not end anytime soon. I lost my job as a photographer and the chance to see my daughter, who lives in Belarus and studies at a musical college as a pianist. She is supposed to come to Canada forever, but plans are now being delayed.
In the third month of quarantine, I captured the empty streets on camera. The apocalyptic world is absurd but infinitely beautiful! This beauty gives calm, hope and strength to carry on.
"A month later, studying COVID-19 statistics, I realized that in the 21st century, people are no less vulnerable than in the Middle Ages. A world that just recently seemed so huge, diverse, and full of opportunities narrowed down to the size of the room in which I self-isolated."