With social distancing the new normal, people are finding new ways to be creative. Turns out a little alone time can cause inspiration to bubble up. Deco’s Alex Miranda caught up with a real-life bubble boy.
Feel like you’re living in a bubble?
Photographer George Kamper knows the feeling. His pandemic-inspired work is blowing up.
George Kamper: “Everything I saw on the news was all about ‘the bubble’: everybody was getting into a bubble or out of a bubble. We had a bubble in the closet that I had originaly purchased for a fashion shoot, and we decided, ‘Well, let’s trot it out and see what we can make with it.'”
The result? “The Corona Bubble,” a series of photos that became a quarantine dream.
George Kamper: “Our first picture was very simple, just me reaching for a beer on our dock. It turned out fun. People liked it, so I was like, ‘OK, let’s keep going.'”
George shoots the photos by remote control. Wife Sherryl helps with the art direction … and a leaf blower.
Sherryl Kamper: “Immediately I have to zip down the zipper and leave about this much open for the leaf blower and start blowing air into it right away, because otherwise…”
George Kamper: “I’ll die.”
Sherryl Kamper: “He’ll die.”
Some photos have a serious tone.
Sherryl Kamper: “I was standing next to him with my pitchfork and my hose, and he had a bouquet of sunflowers inside there with a very somber face.”
Others are just fun.
Sherryl Kamper: “I was scrubbing, and George was scrubbing from inside, and then he kind of dropped his drawers a little bit, which attracted a lot of people. They thought that was hilarious.”
George Kamper: “One of my faves that took us to another level was the Banksy bubble.”
Even the police were interested.
George Kamper: “They saw all the smoke and thought we were looting. When we told them what we were doing, they were like, ‘Oh, that’s great. Don’t worry about it.'”
While they’re having a ball with the project, living in the bubble hit close to home.
George Kamper: “As much as we are sort of making fun of this, it’s not a joke. We didn’t let our kids near us for two months.”
And “Bubble Boy” has more work on the way.
Sherryl Kamper: “His nickname has become ‘Bubble Boy.'”
George Kamper: “Clients call me up and say, ‘Hey, Bubble Boy. What’s going on?'”
FOR MORE INFO:
Corona Bubble Series
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