Thank You for Deliverying
Soon after the pandemic began, every evening in cities around the world, countless people would lean out their windows to cheer, bang pots and other objects, and express gratitude and support for the medical workers risking their lives to care for the sick. Another group of service workers burgeoned, too, and became heroes of a different sort – the delivery drivers bringing food, drink, toilet paper, entertainments and much more to individuals who were able to shelter at home.
The wealthy have long relied on others to bring basics to their doorsteps, and companies delivering goods the ‘last mile’ to the average home became a mass phenomenon early in the 20th century. But now that a driver and customer meeting at arm’s length to trade package for signature felt risky, a new folk art blossomed on many front doors: hand-drawn signs giving instructions and sometimes thanks to those whose effort and risk allowed others to stay safely inside their own little Downtown Abbeys.
The series has been featured in “COVID Cantos” exhibition at the Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery in February 2025.