Empathy, dignity, sadness: this touching series, dedicated to the Corona pandemic, now appears as a book.

Even after two years, the continuing consequences of COVID-19 can still be felt everywhere. There should be no trace of nonchalance; yet, since strict restrictions have been lifted in most European countries, a certain lack of concern is spreading. This is occurring, despite the constant increase in numbers of Corona infections, as cases reach all-time highs. We have to learn to live with these contradictions. Meanwhile, countless photography projects have been focussing on the pandemic: some are of a very personal nature; others have a more documentary style. Among these many series, Zoonose, by Cédric Gerbehaye, is particularly noteworthy.

The photo book and the exhibition that followed are the result of a long-term project carried out by the Belgian photographer, over the past two years. Time and again, he returned in particular to La Louvière – a Belgian city of around 80,000 inhabitants. He captured the latent tension in the faces of people on the streets, and the desperation of those affected by the virus and their families. He took his Leica directly into the city’s hospitals. In addition to l’Hôpital de Jolimont, he most frequently visited the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Tivoli. The photographer was able to participate in the daily lives of the hospital staff from the perspective of an outside observer. The three waves of the pandemic made it impossible for the personnel to get any real rest, pushing each one of them to the limit.

For a number of days, Gerbehaye set up a studio on the eleventh floor of the hospital, where he invited the workers to come and be photographed: the aim was to create intimate moments, which would allow a glimpse behind the masks. These portraits reveal the incredible degree of exhaustion and desperation; yet, at the same time, each one represents a moment of consolation, perception and connection. With his powerful black and white images, Gerbehaye makes reference to iconic Christian motifs – scenes from the hectic, everyday life at the clinic are condensed into moments of stillness, where the suffering of Christ appears in contemporary form. Modelled on pictures of saints and martyrs, the portraits of the hospital staff strike the viewer with strong emotional force.

Zoonose is an intense series – one which clearly proves that, behind all the statistics and media reports about the pandemic, there are individual people and stories. The photo book does not include any shock pictures; yet, it offers harrowing glimpses into the everyday life of hospital staff. The photographer’s empathic eye gives us profound insight into a subject that society will be dealing with for some time to come. His series has already made history. The increasing numbers of current COVID cases will continue to make challenging demands on medical personnel into the future. Consequently, this book can certainly be seen as an appeal for a sense of responsibility and solidarity.