I Am COVID-19

I Am COVID-19 is a visual and aural meditation on nature -- from predators and prey, to fragility and resistance. Could a virus intent on destroying humankind be the unlikely messenger that just might save us?

The film was created for the exhibition Solstice: Create Art for Earth, an international project by Judy Chicago and Turner Carroll Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

  • Cheri Gaulke
    Director
  • Cheri Gaulke
    Writer
  • Cheri Gaulke
    Producer
  • Cheri Gaulke
    Animation
  • Cheri Gaulke
    Editor
  • Cheri Gaulke
    Sound Design
  • Christine Papalexis
    Voice-over
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Animation, Environmental, art
  • Runtime:
    3 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 20, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    300 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital Film and and Animation
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Solstice: Create Art for Earth
    Santa Fe, New Mexico
    United States
    June 20, 2020
Director Biography - Cheri Gaulke

Cheri Gaulke is a pioneer in the feminist art movement in Los Angeles affiliated with the Woman’s Building. Her films have screened in film festivals internationally and she has presented her work at the Museum of Modern Art (NY), the Museum of Contemporary Art (LA), in a Smithsonian-touring exhibition, and in settings all over the world including buses, churches, and prehistoric temples. Gaulke cofounded collaborative performance groups Feminist Art Workers and Sisters Of Survival which were featured in a Getty-sponsored exhibition. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Minneapolis College of Art and Design and a Master of Arts degree (in Feminist Art/Education) from Goddard College and has received artist fellowships from National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, City of Los Angeles and California Community Foundation. Gaulke is based in Los Angeles where she is also an award-winning educator committed to empowering youth voices. I Am COVID-19 is Gaulke’s 27th work in film/video (single channel or video installation).

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I wrote the text that became the film's narration during a session with QueerWise, my writing group led by AIDS activist, actor, and writer Michael Kearns. Writing from the point of view of the virus was odd but allowed me to explore all aspects of nature -- the ways in which it can nurture and also destroy life. It’s all part of a cycle. But where do humans fit into that cycle? It seems we are often the ones out of sync with nature -- we poach, pollute and prey on animals and other lifeforms. I found myself pissed off on behalf of nature, and as the voice of the virus I wanted to make a case for why I should survive too.

As a feminist and lesbian I wanted to queer the text, being sure to insert details like male seahorses nurturing eggs and a lesbian family (mine) walking through an urban canyon. The observations are from my own neighborhood. The woman counting whales is a good friend (whose job counting whales is on hiatus due to Covid). After writing the text, I thought it could become a voice-over for an animated film and a good way for me to keep busy during quarantine. My friend and co-QueerWiser Christine Papalexis recorded the narration on her cell phone. My daughter helped me with drawings and I animated the imagery using a make-shift stop-motion setup and by watching lots of After Effects tutorials.

I was further inspired by feminist artist Judy Chicago’s international project on Instagram #CreateArt for Earth. I completed the film in time to submit it to her exhibition Solstice: Create Art for Earth and the film was selected for the real-life exhibition at Turner Carroll Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which opened on Summer Solstice, June 20, 2020.