‘The Wave’

A couple of weeks ago, some people at work thought it would be a good idea to set a challenge. They tasked the team with creating something that represents their ‘daily commute’ to work. Like a lot of people, we’re all working from home. It was supposed to be inventive, creative, tongue in cheek. 

I was amazed by the variety put forward in the end – we had people making film-trailer-type videos, people were using their photography skills, there was fancy dress. It was a real eye-opener to see the hidden talents of my colleagues and I thought it was about time I shared my creativity too (I briefly hinted at this at the end of my last post in April).

I didn’t really fancy making a video. I just couldn’t work out how to make it funny. Instead, I thought I’d draw something and that this would be a little bit different to my usual work…

I’m a bit of a ghost when it comes to social media. I still have a Facebook account but I don’t think I’ve posted anything on there since 2018…! I do, however, flick through my timeline every day. Over the past few months I’ve noticed some of the cartoon storyboards published on there by the Wellcome Collection’s illustrator. They’re short, snappy and different. With a cartoon, there’s no pressure to be perfect and I realised that was exactly what I wanted.

I also wanted my ‘daily commute’ to have a bit of humour. So I thought about the sorts of habits I’d fallen into since lockdown began. One key thing that I never did before all of this is that I water the garden pretty much every day. And the house plants. Ok, I thought, I can work with that. 

Another habit – I stare out of the window trying to spot cats. A lot. I’ve wanted to get a rescue cat for quite a long time and kept putting it off. As soon as lockdown began, I couldn’t believe how stupid I’d been. I was one of those painful people (no doubt) who emailed the Blue Cross the weekend of lockdown, politely asking whether any cats needed to be rehomed. I didn’t expect a reply. I didn’t get one. 

As well as looking out for cats, I’ve also been mesmerised by the birds in the garden. They’re usually all sparrows but I could swear I’ve seen blue tits and a goldfinch too – part of the lockdown delirium? Turns out, these sparrows are pretty hungry beasts so I’ve been filling up the bird feeder multiple times a week since working from home. 

I had the pieces of the puzzle. So, I contemplated, how do I pull them together? What’s the common theme? I knew straight away and wrote down an alternative title for the cartoon storyboard: The Daily Commute of a Needy Northerner. It was perfect. A completely appropriate satire of my current existence. The cartoons and captions flowed straight onto the paper and I created my piece to share with the team. It had been a very different thing for me to draw and I had enjoyed it thoroughly.

Now, the real question. What has this got to do with a wave. Well, I had kind of assumed that drawing a cartoon storyboard for work would just be a one-off for me. It had served its purpose and I’d enjoyed the experience. But, this week, I’ve felt a nagging that I just couldn’t shake off.

It’s amazing how we process and experience change. From Day 1, I’ve often experienced a very odd sensation when important changes have come into effect or when groundbreaking information has been shared. I’ve suddenly pictured a huge wave, with people riding it. As soon as the change happens, I feel it starting to crash but I never see where it lands. It’s an odd image. On the one hand, scary, uncertain, unpredictable and on the other, reassuring. 

I even had a dream about a huge wave. That was pretty terrifying. More so than the feeling I’ve experienced while conscious! I hadn’t quite realised how many times I’d ‘felt’ this until earlier in the week. And I decided I just had to draw it out – in the same format as my ‘daily commute’. So that’s what I did. And that’s how The Wave came to be.