The COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly every facet of life as we know it. Gathering in venues and socializing with loved ones, both pleasures that many of us enjoyed prior to the lockdown, have been either entirely eliminated or discouraged. It seems many of us have taken for granted what it means to be able to share a meal with loved ones, to hold hands with friends on the street, to laugh and hug and sit snuggled up together on a cramped loveseat.
For those who are fortunate to still live in a larger household, the ability to congregate around a kitchen table is simple pleasure we can still enjoy. I followed the residents of 726 Willoughby in BedStuy and showed just how versatile their kitchen has become. Far from being a place to just enjoy meals, the pandemic has forced the residents to convert their kitchen table to serve their needs. It has become a makeshift tattoo parlor, art studio, homework study, movie theater and a place to enjoy what little company is available.
2. Jackson Engeman, Courtney Miller and Anthony Tucci at 726 Willoughby ave prepare for breakfast. Nov 20, 2020. Photo by Isabel Beer
3. Breakfast waits for Courtney Miller as the house cat, Caccia overlooks the area. Nov 20, 2020. Photo by Isabel Beer
Print and engraving artist, Jackson Engeman, 22, etches a wood print in the Myrtle-Willoughby neighborhood in Brooklyn during the COVID-19 pandemic. Engeman has had to repurpose his room and his kitchen in order to accomodate for his artwork. Nov 14, 2020. Photo by Isabel Beer
Print and engraving artist, Jackson Engeman, 22, etches a wood print in the Myrtle-Willoughby neighborhood in Brooklyn during the COVID-19 pandemic. Engeman has had to repurpose his room and his kitchen in order to accomodate for his artwork. Nov 14, 2020. Photo by Isabel Beer
Print and engraving artist, Jackson Engeman, 22, etches a wood print in the Myrtle-Willoughby neighborhood in Brooklyn during the COVID-19 pandemic. Engeman has had to repurpose his room and his kitchen in order to accomodate for his artwork. Nov 14, 2020. Photo by Isabel Beer
Cadence Wright tattoos Grace Mooney, 24, with her sketchbook as a reference in her apartment in the Myrtle-Willoughby neighborhood in Brooklyn. Nov 14, 2020. Photo by Isabel Beer
Cadence Wright tattoos Grace Mooney, 24, in the Myrtle-Willoughby with a mask in the background in Brooklyn during the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with her partner, Engeman, Wright has had to move from a traditional studio to tattooing at home in order to serve clients. Nov 14, 2020. Photo by Isabel Beer
Tattoo artist, Cadence Wright, 22, tattoos a client in her home in the Myrtle-Willoughby neighborhood in Brooklyn during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nov 13, 2020, Photo by Isabel Beer
Tattoo artist, Cadence Wright, 22, cleans her tattoo needle during a session in her home in the Myrtle-Willoughby neighborhood in Brooklyn during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nov 13, 2020. Photo by Isabel Beer
Courtney Miller, 23 zooms late at night at her kitchen table in Brooklyn, NY. Oct. 24, 2020. Photo by Isabel Beer
