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Existence and response: living in quarantine during a pandemic

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Existence and response: living in quarantine during a pandemic

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EXISTENCE AND RESPONSE:

LIVING IN QUARANTINE DURING A PANDEMIC

by

Tiancheng Zhu

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSKI SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF FINE ARTS
(DESIGN)

May 2022

Copyright 2022 Tiancheng Zhu
ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures iii
Abstract iv
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Origins Of The Covid-19 Pandemic 2
Significant Variants Of The Covid-19 Pandemic 2
Chapter 2: Policy Responses To The Covid-19 Pandemic Between China And The U.S. 4
China’s Epidemic Prevention Policy 4
Dynamic Zeroing Strategy 4
Policy Inquires By Province 5
United States’ Epidemic Prevention Policy 7
Preventive Measures 7
Stay-At-Home Order In California 8
Differences And Arguing By State 9
Chapter 3: People’s Response To The Pandemic 12
Creativity In Solitude 12
Create A Schedule For Routine Maintenance 12
Reframing Negative Events 13
Virtual Communities On The Internet 13
Negative Aspects Of Quarantine 14
Reduced Physical Activity 14
Isolation Depression 14
Screen Addiction 15
Falsehoods And Conspiracy Theories 15
Chapter 4: Individual Works And Response 17
Introduction To Personal Life Experience 17
Data Visualization For Covid-19 19
John Snow's Contributions Of Data Visualization 19
Documentary Photography 22
Black And White Photography 23
Personal And Spatial 3D Models 28
Personal Experience Narrative 29
Existence And Response 31
Chapter 5: Conclusion 34

Bibliography 35
iii

List of Figures
Figure 1. Interface of in WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard ........................................... 1
Figure 2. Currently designated variants of concern (VOCs) from WHO website .......................... 3
Figure 3. Interface of "Epidemic Prevention and Control Policies and Measures
Throughout the Country" on the Chinese government website and the State Council client app .. 4
Figure 4. The Interface of policies traveling from Nanjing to Beijing ........................................... 6
Figure 5. Interface of COVID-19 policies in CDC website............................................................ 7
Figure 6. Interface of COVID-19 policies on the U.S. government website .................................. 8
Figure 7. State trend infographic from New York Times website .................................................. 9
Figure 8. Tracking Coronavirus in California: Latest Map and Case Count, New York Times .. 10
Figure 9. Covid-19 Infographic Guidelines, digital ...................................................................... 20
Figure 10. We are Open, photography .......................................................................................... 24
Figure 11. The Journey Home, photography ................................................................................ 28
Figure 12. Cocoon, digital 3D model............................................................................................ 32

iv

Abstract
In early 2020, an unexpected pandemic surged throughout the globe, upending people's
lives. The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated prevention and control policies, such as
lockdown and movement restrictions, have impacted numerous sectors of society and every
element of life and work for everyone. People have responded and reacted differently to the
epidemic and its prevention and control methods. They developed daily plans and shared their
work on social media, virtual communities, and other platforms to creatively demonstrate the
positive status of personal and social life under the epidemic prevention policy represented by
home quarantine, demonstrating the ability to reframe negative events. However, isolation at
home has led to problems such as reduced space for activities, loneliness and depression, screen
addiction, and fake news and disinformation, all of which have had a negative impact on people.
This paper will summarize the primary pandemic prevention programs and the many responses
people had to them throughout the pandemic, as well as examine their positive and negative
consequences on people's conceptions of themselves in connection to society. Additionally, this
study will cover my personal analysis and reflection on my own relationship with society
through the presentation of a personal series of design works. Even if I was not infected with
COVID, the devastation to my life was profound. Personal isolation and disorientation resulting
from travel to and from China muddled my work and research path. As a result of my design
research on the effects of COVID, isolation, and change, my work took a turn for the worst, and I
was forced to refocus the design work. As a result, the initiatives presented in this thesis take a
variety of approaches to examining my experience, including data visualization, documentary
photography, and a 3D model evocative of my mental state throughout this time period.
Keywords: policies, response, society, pandemic, isolated life, beneficial effect, detrimental
effect, data visualization, documentary photography, 3D model
1

Chapter 1: Introduction
The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic is the most widespread disease to
have afflicted humanity in a century, and it is still spreading. In addition to being a terrible
dilemma for the entire planet, it is also a tremendous challenge, posing a serious threat to human
life and health.
Coronavirus disease is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. On January
30, 2020, the WHO Director-General declared this novel coronavirus outbreak a Public Health
Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), which is the highest level of WHO alert.
According to real-time reports from the WHO, as of January 2022, 360 million people
worldwide have been infected with the novel coronavirus, with 5.63 million of them dying from
the infection (Figure 1).

Figure 1. The Interface of in WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard

Numerous virus variants have evolved since the virus was first discovered, and the strain
with the highest rate of new infections worldwide is Omicron, which was presently present in
71.9 percent of cases tested in the previous 30 days as of January 19, 2022 (Schnirring, 2022).

2

Origins of the COVID-19 pandemic
From December 27, 2019, to January 19, 2020, surveillance revealed instances of
pneumonia of unknown etiology in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China (Xinhua, 2020a). China was
the first to report the outbreak and acted swiftly to conduct etiological and epidemiological
investigations in order to halt the epidemic's spread. China took the initiative to promptly notify
the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States, and other countries of the outbreak
and disclosed the novel coronavirus's genomic sequence to the world. WHO announced on
February 11, 2020, that the sickness caused by the novel coronavirus would be named COVID-
19.
According to practices from WHO in 2015, to prevent inaccuracy and stigma, the disease's
name was chosen in accordance with best practices and did not allude to a geographical region,
an animal, an individual, or a group of people. Although COVID-19 was originally detected in
Wuhan, China, it is believed to have started in bats and propagated worldwide before being
diagnosed in Wuhan. Dr. Peter Forster, a fellow at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological
Research at the University of Cambridge, feels there is overwhelming indirect evidence that the
virus did not originate in Wuhan (Forster, 2020). The WHO Director-General remarks that the
investigation into the new coronavirus continues, and the WHO reiterates that all possibilities
regarding the virus's origin remain open on March 30, 2021.

Significant variants of the COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 is a virus that is constantly evolving, and new varieties are predicted to emerge.
At times, new varieties appear and then vanish. Additionally, new varieties will persist at times.
Numerous COVID-19 virus variants have been identified in the United States and throughout the
3

world during this global epidemic. The World Health Organization closely monitors the
following virus variations that induce higher transmissibility or adverse changes in the
epidemiology of COVID-19, or that impair the effectiveness of public health and social
measures, as well as existing diagnostics, vaccinations, and treatments.

Figure 2. Currently designated variants of concern (VOCs) from WHO website

Omicron is the neo-coronavirus variant that currently, March 7, 2022, accounts for the
majority of confirmed cases worldwide (Figure 2). Dr. Anthony Fauci hypothesized that because
Omicron is highly transmissible but less likely to cause severe disease than some previous
variants, it could be a sign that COVID-19 is transitioning from pandemic to endemic phase
(Caldwell, 2022).

4

Chapter 2: Policy Responses To The COVID-19 Pandemic Between China
And The U.S.
As the COVID-19 epidemic continues to spread, the U.S. and China have adopted a variety
of policy responses. Stay-at-home restrictions, vaccination policies, face-covering policies,
school closures, remote working, travel restrictions, prohibitions on public meetings, emergency
investments in medical facilities, new kinds of social welfare support, contact tracing, and other
actions are separately taken.

China’s Epidemic Prevention Policy
Since April 2020, China has experienced more than 40 clusters of outbreaks, all of which
were caused by imports from aboard. China's policies for outbreak control include the detection
of outbreaks, rapid detection and interdiction, and attainment of dynamic zeroing. "Dynamic
zeroing refers to the rapid extinction of the epidemic through integrated prevention and control
measures when there are indigenous cases." Liang Wannian, head of the expert group of the
National Health and Wellness Commission's Leading Group for Epidemic Response and
Disposal, introduced dynamic zeroing as the best choice and general policy for epidemic
prevention and control in China at this stage.
Dynamic zeroing strategy
Dynamic zeroing strategy, also called Zero-COVID strategy, consists of three components.
First, infection sources must be identified promptly and pro-actively. Infectious sources
include patients, asymptomatic infected persons, and other animals that may carry pathogens,
which are detected primarily through fever clinic monitoring for early warning as well as some
testing and active screening methods.
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Second is the identification of cases and the rapid implementation of public health and social
intervention measures, including the control of infected cases, the management of close contacts,
epidemiological investigation, and crowd control measures.
Third, effective treatment, primarily through the use of a combination of Chinese and
Western medicine and other methods, effective treatment of patients as soon as possible, as far as
possible, to halt the spread of the epidemic, to prevent light to heavy infection, and to minimize
the occurrence of serious illness and death. Liang Wannian emphasized that the dynamic zeroing
policy as a whole aims to maximize the integration of socioeconomic development and epidemic
prevention and control.
Policy inquiries by provinces
To improve the coordination of epidemic prevention and control with economic and social
development, and to better meet the needs of enterprises and the public for epidemic prevention
and control policies and measures, the General Office of the State Council launched the column
Figure 3. Interface of "Epidemic Prevention and Control Policies and Measures Throughout the
Country" on the Chinese government website and the State Council client app

6

"Epidemic Prevention and Control Policies and Measures Throughout the Country" on the
Chinese government website and the State Council client app (Figure 3).
The column will consolidate and disseminate authoritative and accurate information about
epidemic prevention and control policies and measures.
The epidemic prevention and control policy measures page includes the risk level associated
with the departure and destination, as well as the associated transportation and epidemic
prevention policies, which is updated daily. The figure below illustrates a journey beginning in
Nanjing, Jiangsu Province and ending in Beijing (Figure 4).
The entire city of Nanjing is designated as a low-risk zone, and the epidemic prevention
policy for departing from Nanjing is detailed. Beijing's epidemic prevention and control policy is
more stringent and detailed, as some areas are currently classified as medium to high risk.
However, the stringent immunization program in China also imposes several limits on
people's movement. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued the first version
of a notice on March 24, 2020, regarding the adjustment of international passenger flights,
primarily stating that each airline can only send one flight from one country via one route once
Figure 4. The Interface of policies traveling from Nanjing to Beijing

7

per week to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 within China. The number of flights each week
would be reduced to around 130, and the passenger occupancy rate on inbound flights will be
limited to 75 percent. According to Dan Zhao, author from Aviation Think Tank, the number of
people coming by air is expected to reduce from 25,000 per day to around 5,000 per day. As a
result of this restriction, many international students and tourists abroad have had to postpone
their plans to return to China and take the corresponding health and financial risks.
In general, Chinese government claim that their epidemic prevention and control policy is
guided by the "Dynamic zeroing" policy, which prioritizes the most majority of people’s life and
health as the fundamental points for all prevention and control initiatives. However, strict
prevention measures have also caused inconvenience for some groups.

United States’ Epidemic Prevention Policy
As of December 2021, the majority of state and local public health officials are deferring
new mandates and closures in favor of the advice they have offered throughout the pandemic:
maintain a safe distance, wear a mask in public settings, get tested if you believe you have been
exposed, and get vaccinated and a booster shot (Ollove, 2021).
Preventive measures
Figure 5. Interface of COVID-19 policies in CDC website
8

The US federal government and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have
both issued statements in reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as prevention and control
advice (Figure 5).
Among the services provided are COVID-19 health information, immunizations, and testing.
COVID-19 small business loans and assistance, COVID-19 unemployment compensation, food,
housing, and bill assistance, and travel information and recommendations will also be taken into
account (Figure 6).

Stay-at-home order in California

On March 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a statewide order
directing individuals to "stay-at-home" during the COVID-19 pandemic. All dine-in restaurants,
bars and clubs, as well as gyms and fitness studios, would be shuttered as a result of the order.
Additionally, public events and gatherings were to be prohibited. However, critical services such
Figure 6. Interface of COVID-19 policies on the U.S. government website
9

as pharmacies, grocery stores, take-out and delivery restaurants, and banks will stay open.
Individuals in sixteen critical areas in California would continue to work. These sectors include
emergency services, energy, agriculture, and food (Noack, 2020). However, when Gov. Newsom
released the revised homebound order in December 2020, he noted that he had received support
for enforcing the order from some local officials, while also recognizing that some officials
stated they would not enforce the requirements (Lin, 2020).
Differences and arguing by State

Due to the United States' multi-state divided governance and partisanship, epidemic
management tactics varied from state to state and sometimes drew criticism.
According to a New York Times infographic, California, Texas, and Florida surpassed 5
million cumulative COVID19 case diagnoses on January 31, 2022. California had confirmed
more than 8.28 million of these cases, making it the state with the highest cumulative number of
COVID19 case diagnoses in the country (Figure 7).
The State of California notes that the economy is open in the Q4 of 2021, due to the millions
of vaccinations being administered. Compared to the vast majority of administrative actions

Figure 7. State trend infographic from New York Times website

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implemented since March 2020 as part of the pandemic response, effective June 15, 2021, the
Governor terminated the Stay-at-home order. Representative restrictions lifted include Physical
distancing, capacity limits on businesses and county tier system. However, the number of
hospitalized COVID-19 patients has increased by 63% due to a 410% increase in the statewide
7-day average case rate since Thanksgiving of that year. On December 31, 2021, the California
Department of Public Health updated new restrictions and recommendations, including
Definitions of Mega Events, Vaccine Verification and Negative Testing, Capacity limitations,
Physical Distancing, Masking and Travelers.
The decline in the curve of new daily cases in California can be seen with the mitigation of
multiple measures (Figure 8).
Florida, on the other hand, has been criticized for its lax vaccination policies despite having
the third highest total number of confirmed cases in the country. On Nov. 18, 2021, Ron
DeSantis signed four bills into law aimed at Covid-19 mitigation measures such as the vaccine
mandate, the latest move by the Republican governor to oppose the Biden administration and
further restrict public and private employers' implementation of Covid-19 mitigation measures
(Durkee, 2021). According to a report in the Washington Post on December 30, 2021, Democrats
Figure 8. Tracking Coronavirus in California: Latest Map and Case Count, New York Times

11

and critics urged Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to do more to combat the Florida state's rise in
infections caused by the highly transmissible omicron variant, as Florida reported over 47,000
new COVID-19 cases, smashing its single-day record since the beginning of the pandemic
(Bella, 2021a). Christina Pushaw, a spokeswoman for DeSantis, noted that vaccine certifications,
face coverings, and other hard government measures had failed to accomplish their declared
objectives. Additionally, Pushaw stated in a statement to the Washington Post that Florida
continues to emphasize the critical nature of early treatment and was working to extend access to
clinically proven treatments (Bella, 2021b).
In general, the US government advocates proactive measures like encouraging
immunization, keeping social distance, wearing facemask, frequency nucleic acid testing, taking
quarantine and isolation measures for infected persons and contacts. Specific strategies to
combat the pandemic have varied from state to state due to mutual partisanship and conflict, and
some measures have drawn criticism. Even within the same government agency, some officials
still express disagreement about the specific implementation of the policy. Coexistence with
viruses will be the trend in the government's approach to the outbreak.

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Chapter 3: People's Response To The Pandemic
Since the COVID-19 epidemic was declared a Public Health Emergency of International
Concern (PHEIC), people have expressed a range of emotions and reactions in response to the
home order-based prevention and control policies. Under the adverse effects of the epidemic,
individuals organized activities and shared their creations via social media and virtual
communities, creatively demonstrating the positive state of personal interaction with society.
However, external factors that are extreme act as stressors which can have detrimental effects on
people. A serious pandemic challenge and stay-at-home orders have resulted in decreased space
for activities, increased symptoms of loneliness and depression, the proliferation of fake news
and conspiracy theories, and screen addiction.

Creativity in Solitude
While stress caused by the COVID-19 epidemic is unavoidable and its effect on anxiety and
depression is apparent, positive emotions can broaden the range of possible coping mechanisms
that arise to mind, hence increasing one's resilience and ability to cope with stress. People raised
positive emotions during the COVID-19 outbreak to combat the stress caused by the COVID
epidemic by developing plans, reframing unpleasant situations, and participating in online virtual
communities.
Create a schedule for routine maintenance
During such periods of uncertainty, people must concentrate on the parts of their lives over
which they still have control.
According to Peter Starkey, executive director of the Monadnock Area Peer Support Agency
in Keene, New Hampshire, creating a routine maintenance plan can assist you in being focused
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and productive (Belanger, 2020). For instance, when people work from home due to isolation
requirements, getting up, dressing, having a cup of coffee, and planning their day is a type of
self-management, and people need to maintain a regular schedule in order to stay healthy.
Reframing negative events
Reconstructions of bad occurrences by individuals are frequently used to discover and
amplify positive emotions I difficult circumstances. For example, illustration, in contrast to
photography, can allow artists to pour passion and imagination into the painting in order to elicit
empathy. Windows provided the passage for vision to pass from the inside to the outside of the
home. The New York Times initiated an art project in April 2020, calling 17 illustrators based in
diverse sections of New York to depict the scene outside their windows and convey the sensation
of being there. JooHee Yoon, who lives in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn said, “My sense of time
seems to stretch and shrink in weird ways, and I am working more than ever to escape the dire
reality.” (Luca, 2020).
Virtual communities on the Internet
Isolation at home has drastically limited opportunities to interact with the complicated
network of people outside, allowing people to devote more time to relationships that are closer to
them, such as family and neighbors. The prohibition on offline community gatherings has
resulted in an increase in online community activities, with staff in one community reported in
the Washington Post exploiting their ingenuity to organize online cocktail-making,
programming, and cartooning lessons for residents (Lerner, 2020). Many of these activities, such
as balcony decoration, took advantage of the domestic space available during segregation, with
participants taking images of their elaborately adorned balconies and uploading them to an
online virtual community to share with their neighbors. Many locals who were afraid of offline
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social interaction took part in the pandemic, and community communication, which had been
ignored in everyday life, was given a fresh lease on life.

Negative aspects of quarantine
To assist in interrupting the spread of the virus, the implementation of home isolation and
home orders directly resulted in a reduction in available space for individuals. Staying at home
increases the risk of isolation and depression because of the decreased frequency of direct social
interaction. The experience of working and attending school at home forced people to spend an
inordinate amount of time on screens, increasing their risk of developing a screen addiction.
Simultaneously, as a result of the advanced information age, a flood of true or false information
about the epidemic entered the public consciousness, accelerating the spread of conspiracy
theories.
Reduced physical activity
Numerous jurisdictions blocked numerous indoor and outdoor public venues to keep people
apart, and while some areas remain open to physical training facilities on a conditional basis,
there are tight capacity limits. These actions have resulted in a dramatic decrease in the number
of locations available for physical activity. At the same time, prolonged house confinement may
result in decreased physical activity and increased sedentary behavior, which may impair
immune function and raise the chance of acquiring chronic health disorders (Sallis, 2020).
Isolation depression
While maintaining a safe distance between people to prevent infection is a critical public
health policy, it can also pose severe mental health problems (Lades, 2020). Loneliness and
social isolation frequently coexist during an epidemic. Loneliness is a widely acknowledged
15

notion that refers to the subjective sensation of isolation, whereas social isolation refers to the
objective status of an individual's social surroundings and interaction patterns. While the term
"loneliness" refers to subjective sensations, "social isolation" refers to the extent and frequency
with which a person interacts with others. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation and
loneliness have grown increasingly widespread, resulting in severe mental suffering, as a result
of numerous regulations restricting people's sociability in order to limit the danger of viral
transmission (Twenge, 2020).
Screen addiction
COVID-19's isolation and stress may have exacerbated the Internet addiction epidemic.
While Internet-based social activities enable people to communicate while retaining social
isolation, long-term usage of digital devices may be detrimental (Pandya, 2021). According to a
paper published online, the total frequency of Internet addiction in the general population was
36.7 percent during the pandemic, while the incidence of severe Internet addiction was 2.8
percent (Li, 2021). Screen addiction can have a negative impact on both physical and mental
health, resulting in sleep problems and an increased risk of myopia in teens, while increased
screen time in adults substitutes for good behaviors and routines, increasing the chance of
acquiring chronic diseases.
Falsehoods and conspiracy theories
As is the case with any major public event, disinformation and conspiracy theories about
the virus and pandemic preparedness programs were prevalent throughout the COVID-19
pandemic. When confronted with an incident with which people have little prior experience,
disinformation might appeal to the general public due to its fiery and adversarial nature. This
deception may exacerbate the occurrence of violent mass occurrences and may be combined with
16

pseudoscience to distort public perceptions of scientific epidemic prevention, resulting in loss of
life, health, and property. These conspiracy theories center on the government's response to the
epidemic, with home quarantine being viewed as a way for the government to exert control over
the populace. Between March 16 and 19, 2020, Gallup found that nearly the same number of
Americans reported self-isolating as did not self-isolate (Hedge, 2020). And at the start of the
pandemic, 15.2 percent of people believed COVID-19 was a fake (Šrol, 2022).

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Chapter 4: Individual Works And Response
I am a Chinese international student who arrived in the United States in September 2019
to study. Although I have not yet received confirmation of a new coronavirus diagnosis, the
impact of the entire COVID-19 outbreak on my life, studies, and career has been profound and
far-reaching.

Introduction to Personal Life Experience
I came to the United States in September 2019. And just at the end of that year, a new
coronavirus epidemic was unexpectedly discovered. Faced with an unknown virus, the Chinese
government ordered a complete lockdown of Wuhan, a key transportation and commercial hub
of 11.08 million people in the central area, as well as tight nationwide epidemic prevention
measures, to stop the spread of the new coronavirus outbreak. The difficulties were enormous
and costly, with a cumulative total of 50,333 confirmed cases and 3,869 deaths from cumulative
confirmed cases in Wuhan, China, as of 24:00 on April 16, 2020 (Xinhua, 2020b). During
February, the worst month of the epidemic, I also provided support for the fight against the
epidemic within China through various channels. At the same time, COVID cases began to be
identified in the U.S. On January 26, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
confirmed the first case in California and the third new coronavirus case in the United States.
Within just one month, the situation started to get worse in Los Angeles, where I based.
The same initiatives that had helped my friends in China in their fight against the outbreak were
now beginning to be applied to myself. Shortly after the start of the new semester, USC Provost
Charles F. Zukoski, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, issued a notice to
18

the entire USC community to pilot online instruction. In fact, the online instruction policy lasted
for four full semesters.
In May of that year, the Floyd Affair exploded across the United States, once again
uncovering the bloody scars of American society. The double oppression of the epidemic and
racial issues caused me to experience a huge impact both physically and psychologically. At the
same time, I began to worry about my career planning and felt anxious about it.
As the year-end holiday season approached, the epidemic reached a new peak in the
United States, and Los Angeles County, where I live, imposed an even stricter home rule than in
April. To reduce campus transmission, USC created a new semester schedule of classes that
allowed students to study online. At the same time, due to family concerned about my health and
safety, and the health of my elders, I began planning my return to China.
On January 19, 2021, after a 15-hour flight and several hours of inbound quarantine, I
returned to China for intensive isolation and observation in a quarantine facility in Shenzhen.
During this process, I experienced the vast differences in epidemic prevention policies between
the United States and China and the different attitudes towards the handling of the outbreak.
I stayed in China until August 2021, during which time he experienced jet lagged online
classes and was offered an internship at a leading Chinese internet company in April. During this
time, I also gained the company of the significant other. However, I felt lonely and confused
following the marketed internship experience and my uncertainty about future professional plans.
After returning to school in the fall, I got my own private room and gradually closed
myself in this room. My mental and physical health were considerably harmed, and my projected
graduation plan was postponed, as a result of wasting a lot of time with no option to improve
oneself, just like a person lost in a quagmire of time.
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Data Visualization for COVID-19
The struggle against plague can be seen as a theme throughout human history. Infectious
diseases induced by disease-causing microbes have resulted in large-scale human fatalities, as
well as the decline of nations and civilizations, and microorganisms have influenced human
civilization and the human body.
The plague pandemic that struck the Eastern Roman Empire in the 6th century A.D.
lasted over half a century, killing 10,000 people each day at its peak and eventually to the
Eastern Roman Empire's demise. Smallpox was introduced to the Americas during the Spanish
colonial invasion of the 16th century, culminating in an 8-year smallpox pandemic across the
continent. There were seven major cholera outbreaks around the world from the early nineteenth
century to the mid-twentieth century, with death rates as high as 50%-70 percent, which were
historically unparalleled in terms of the vast range of locations impacted and the large number of
individuals’ sick. Most infectious diseases have been substantially eradicated in Western
countries since the 1960s, and those that remain may be treated with vaccine and medications.
New infectious diseases, such as AIDS, Ebola, and SARS, continue to emerge, affecting the lives
and health of all humans on a regular basis.
People have realized that the human struggle with infectious diseases is far from over as a
result of this latest COVID-19 outbreak.
John Snow's contributions of data visualization
John Snow was a pivotal figure in epidemiology. During the third cholera pandemic,
Snow mapped the cholera epidemic in the Soho district of London and contributed greatly to the
resolution of the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak. His map is frequently considered as a
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pioneering example of successful visual communication (Shiode, 2015), and an example of how
the digital age has made data visualization tools easier to use and develop. (Friendly, 2021)
Covid-19 Infographic Guidelines
I generated a series of instructive visual data maps on COVID-19 at the start of the
COVID-19 outbreak in the United States by collecting and organizing experiences and
information on the resistance to the outbreak in China. These include the infection status of
major infectious diseases throughout human history, the visual presentation of the new
coronavirus family, new coronavirus prevention methods and forms, new coronavirus survival
time on different surfaces of objects, the difference between new coronavirus symptoms and
those of common influenza, and home isolation measures after infection with new coronaviruses.
I aimed for a scientific, peaceful, and tranquil tone throughout the COVID-19 infographics,
Covid-19 Infographic Guidelines (Figure 9).
Figure 9. Covid-19 Infographic Guidelines, digital

21

In terms of color scheme, the entire system uses gray as the foundation color and pink as
the main color. The gray background contrasts with a single pink tone, describing the style of the
nurse's outfit and boosting the perception of medicine, as well as portraying the nurse's
gentleness while performing nursing care. Pink, as a warm color, lessens saturation and conveys
a soothing texture. The entire system employs a flat and abstract design in the drafting of icon
shapes, and the objects often used by people are expressed in broad terms with simple lines to
promote recognition. The majority of the symbol turns have rounded corners, which show a
pleasant demeanor. In terms of the overall image style texture, the entire system uses a flat
painting process and eliminates unnecessary decorative features, resulting in a scientific and
serene appearance. I used various typefaces for the title and the content's descriptive text in terms
of font. The title is written in Times New Roman, a serif typeface, as if it were a scientific study.
I also picked a simple sans-serif typeface for the content font to make the prose more readable
when the font size shrank.
Despite the lack of early relevant material, the entire set of COVID-19 infographics still
includes the basic knowledge about the virus as well as some of the main challenges and
countermeasures people face when confronted with the virus. It is important to issue that the
coronavirus will continue to change over time, resulting in a variety of variations that induce
varied immune responses and symptoms in people, and many of the specific measures listed in
the current table will become obsolete. For the latest information on the epidemic and preventive
measures, please refer to the WHO bulletin and the epidemic prevention notices of local
governments.
22

Documentary Photography

Documentary photography is the most realistic style of photography. It fully inherits
realism's idea, basic characteristics, and methods, i.e., it distills and summarizes life as it is,
creates typical artistic images to reflect life, and frequently respects the actual appearance of
things, expresses feelings, and reproduces the essence through the real world it represents. Henri
Cartier-Bresson believed that photography is the only means of expression that can capture a
moment without making any mistakes.
Although documentary photography dilutes the photographer's aesthetic ambition and
relies more on their intuitive reflection, it is still a worthwhile endeavor. This instantaneous
intuitive choice, however, includes not only the photographer's sense of social responsibility and
moral judgment, but also their choice of content based on emotion and purpose, as well as their
grasp of photographic angles, light, color, composition, coordination, and other forms. When the
photographer crafts the temporal fragment as the "here" story, existence is no longer an
unconditional, self-existing, and absolute reality, but rather the result of a human being
participating in the dynamic process of life formation through creative intervention.
The photographer grasps the world while also grasping the self, and the images chosen by
the human being objectify the human being's inherent power while also demonstrating the
finiteness of the individual's search of value. As the process of developing the substance,
emotion, communication, and self-existence of images, this finitude manifests itself in tension
and tension removal, balance and balance loss, and other conscious or unconscious noises.

23

Black and white photography
Because of the limits of film technology, early photography was primarily in black and
white. Photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, Marc Riboud, and other great
photographers captured the world in black and white, which sparked a trend of modern
documentary photographers who imitate them.
Black and white photography reduces color to value, in order to let the information itself
appear naturally, and establishes a channel of information that communicates directly with the
reader, allowing the content to spread more effectively and increasing the reader's imagination
and interaction with the subject of the work.
The black and white tones work well together. Gray is calm, with delicate and simple
emotional characteristics, which can make people's emotions produce a quiet and calm feeling.
White is inflated and dazzling, easily causing excitement in the viewer; black is deep, thick, and
heavy, helping to create a quiet atmosphere; white is inflated and dazzling, easily causing
excitement in the viewer; black is deep, thick, and heavy, helping to create a quiet atmosphere;
gray is calm, with delicate and simple emotional characteristics, which can make people's
emotions produce a sense of tranquility and peace.
The photo's unusual black and white rendering effect conveys not only a good look to the
viewer, but also the photographer's inner emotions, which are as deep as the layers of shadows
on the shot. The subject matter and form chosen for the work reflect the photographer's emotions
and attitudes indirectly or clearly, emphasizing the appeal of individuality.
The black and white photography is a way for me to respond to reality and my heart. It is
the simplest and most straightforward way of explaining what is going on in the world through
the shutter in my hand at that precise time. Despite having access to a wide range of
24

photographic equipment and filter effects, I still prefer to show the majority of my work in black
and white.
We are open
The We are Open series was shot in USC Village in Los Angeles in December 2021
(Figure 10).
This occurred during the peak of the winter pandemic and during the winter break from
college. I was living alone in a condo on 28th street, the north side of USC Village, my daily
essentials and food were ordered online and brought to my doorway via no-touch delivery, which
I continued throughout the semester due to concerns about the level of epidemic prevention in
the surrounding environment and the limits of the homeownership order.
My favorite moment was during his regular lessons, when I had the only opportunity to
engage with familiar individuals in person, even if it was only through a screen. Seeing everyone
on the screen gave me the impression that I was still present and not alone in the setting.
Figure 10. We are open, photography

25

However, as the semester drawled to a close and winter break approaches, I lost the
opportunity to communicate with individuals in a passive manner. My inner self, on the other
hand, is growing increasingly desirous of leaving the place that confines me, but my body was
not providing me with the necessary feedback.
The We are Open series was shot on the first weekend after Thanksgiving break, many
months after my previous visit to USC Village. I was initially drawn to an upside-down chair on
the outdoor dining table, its abrupt shape sagging against the corner as if to express resignation.
Several stores in the distance have folding chairs in front of them, if you look around. Even
though increases the risk of isolation and depression, the restaurant could still be identified as
open by the lights and signage. This occurred as a result of the epidemic's severe impact on the
restaurant industry. Dine-in restaurants were closed, and most eateries only served take-out. In
the fall, there was a small respite when restaurants relaxed some dining-in regulations and
permitted clients to dine outside. When the outbreak resurfaced in the winter, however, outdoor
tables were closed, and eateries reverted to a take-out model. The lights were still on and the
"WE ARE OPEN" sign was still on the door, but only a few employees were cleaning up inside
the restaurant, which was not as busy as it had been. I looked at the chairs through the store's
glass as though they were ancient artifacts. The stark contrast expresses a heaviness in the
silence. Such an experience, for me, represents my own battle to survive throughout the
epidemic.
The Journey Home
The Journey Home series of group photos was taken on January 19, 20e21 and
documents my 24-hour journey from my residence in Los Angeles, USA to Shenzhen, China.
Since early November 2020, I had been preparing for my return to China.
26

For me, the biggest challenge was the purchase of airline tickets and obtaining a green
health code. According to the regulations issued by the Consulate General in Los Angeles on
October 29, 2020, regarding people traveling from the U.S. to China on flights, in order to
control the cross-border spread of the epidemic and protect the health and safety of the
passengers, people traveling from the U.S. to China on direct flights must complete sampling and
testing for nucleic acid and serum IgM antibodies once each at the designated testing facility of
the embassy within 48 hours before boarding. After obtaining the certificate of negative nucleic
acid and antibody tests, the person must apply to the Chinese Embassy or Consulate in the U.S.
and obtain a green health code with the "HS" logo or a health status declaration according to the
territory of the nucleic acid test. This means that even if you have successfully purchased a
ticket, if you do not pass the nucleic acid test within 48 hours prior to boarding, you will still not
be allowed to fly.
At the same time, the Civil Aviation Administration of China issued the latest notice on
trial implementation of adjusting the circuit breaker measures for scheduled international
passenger flights on April 28, 2021, in order to better adapt to the needs of epidemic prevention
and control, and to make it easier for airlines to organize capacity and passengers to arrange
travel based on the equivalence of input risk prevention and control measures. Flights between
the US and China were drastically cut and were on the verge of being canceled. According to the
regulations, if the number of passengers who test positive for nucleic acid after entering China
reaches 5, the airline would stop operating that route for two weeks; if it reached 10, the airline
would stop operating that route for four weeks. The carrier’s flight volume could not be changed
on other routes. Only after the break time is over would the airline be able to restart its weekly
flight schedule.
27

My Air China CA770 ticket for January 19 had previously been threatened with
cancellation, so I acquired a ticket from another carrier as a backup. Due to the possibility of
CA770 being canceled, tickets for other alternative flights skyrocketed, prompting panic buying
by customers. Even though the My flight CA770 eventually took off on time, the substantial
refund fees incurred as a result of the other ticket purchase were an unrecoverable loss. To
ensure that I passed the nucleic acid test and avoid accidental infection, I ceased going out half a
month before the scheduled day of the nucleic acid test. On the day I left the house on January
19, I was wearing all my personal protection equipment, including a N95 mask, a clear face
mask, and a complete body suit. A computer bag, a 20-inch luggage case, and a 28-inch suitcase
were also in my possession. This was a war against an unseen foe, and it is taking place right in
front of my eyes.
The arrival at LAX is also captured in photos. The check-in hall at LAX was nearly
empty that day, except for a long line in front of the Air China check-in counter. To preserve
social distance, the queue of individuals waiting to check in even took up space at the check-in
counters of other airlines at one point. The scene in front of the boarding gate is also captured in
the photograph. Passengers waiting to board the airline were outfitted with protective gear and
individually inspected at the gate. The scene resembles a mechanical production line conveying
military weaponry.
I will never forget the crew's attire and eyes in the cabin (Figure 11). The flight crew was
equipped in full and complete protection suits, with straps and tapes to block up any potentially
exposed skin, and their image had vanished. Their focused service attitude and professional
talents were the only things that stayed constant throughout the entire 15-hours of travel. I wish
28

to express my gratitude to the airline and all crew members for adhering to China's vaccination
policy.

Personal and Spatial 3D Models
Due to the broad application of quarantine measures during the outbreak, "space" became
scarce. As home isolation became a more common occurrence, considering people in isolated
areas and their interactions with others might help us rethink ourselves and our social
environment. George Perec, a well-known contemporary French novelist, reflects on several
types of "spaces" in his work Species of Space. Rather than explaining "space," his focus is on
the objects that exist in space, in the order in which they exist, with a strong literary
experimentation style. Life: A User's Manual, another work by Georges Perec, talks about the
challenge of human existence by narrating the lives of several occupants of a building. He gives
the reader a reading map in the shape of a checkerboard in the book, with each grid carrying the
Figure 11. The Journey Home, photography

29

chapter and the resident of the adjacent room. The reader can choose any path and connect the
book's stories in many ways.

Personal experience narrative
My personal and geographical 3D model represents a relationship with a space as well as
a condition.
I had returned to China and had firsthand knowledge of the Chinese policy on epidemic
control. People arriving in China are gathered in a special hotel after their flight lands and
quarantined for 28 days, during which they are subjected to various nucleic acid tests in order to
control and stop the spread of the virus. They can leave the quarantine and go about freely once
everything is in order. In the event of sporadic community transmission within China, the
government will close the area off depending on the severity of the situation. After a period has
passed with no new cases, the area will be reopened. Some areas demand a negative nucleic acid
test within 48 hours for typical cross-regional travel. The virus was dynamically controlled,
allowing for the resumption of economic activities and regular living in China.
Different local policies and their implementation in comparison to China produced a gap
between my psychological expectations and raised the weight of psychological stress upon my
return to the United States.
California did not compel travelers to undergo nucleic acid testing prior to returning to
the state in order to keep the state open, which resulted in me being in a life-threatening scenario.
A roommate who shared a residence with me returned from Las Vegas a week before the
start of the spring 2022 semester and was tested for positive the next day. I became a close
contact as well. I did not blame my roommate, but recognized that in such a survival situation,
30

the large gap between the policy and the ability to put it into practice resulted in a situation in
which the health and safety of everyone’s life could not be guaranteed.
Furthermore, my psychological stress is caused by the policy implementation gap. To
prevent the outbreak from spreading on campus, USC implemented Trojan Check software and
required eligible students to conduct weekly nucleic acid tests and have negative results before
being allowed to attend. The school's checkpoints, on the other hand, did not thoroughly check
whether the Trojan Check belonged to the holder, and some students took advantage of the
school's entrance checkpoints by using Trojan Checks that had previously been tested to gain
access to the campus without having to undergo weekly nucleic acid testing. For some students,
this is a reckless conduct for their own safety and the others, and the school's careless application
of the regulation as the enforcer increases the chance of campus infection. I may often see a non-
serious attitude toward the disease among part of the local population, a numbness in the middle
of doom, a behavior that prioritizes personal freedom over the health of others, in the few outings
required to escape the quarantined premises. It's also a gap in a perpetually leaking levee for
general epidemic containment in the United States.
The pandemic's all-encompassing influence also put my career planning in jeopardy. I
had intended to begin my first internship in China in the summer of 2020, but the outbreak's
international travel restrictions utterly derailed my plans. I did not have a lot of relevant
internship experience at the time, and I believed that in order to be acknowledged, I needed to
have a solid career. And because achieving this aim necessitated a stellar internship, I began to
be concerned about my future.
Under the effect of this perception, I spent the next two months attending a course at a
Chinese Internet design training institute and began learning certain business-related Internet
31

design skills. This decision had a major impact on me. To be sure, I gained a basic understanding
of commercial design following the systematic training and was able to develop some design
scripts that fulfilled the needs of commercial campaigns, all while learning a lot of new tools and
techniques.
The negative impact of this event, on the other hand, is that it has nearly entirely
transformed my design concept and thinking, as well as restricted creativity and thought. My
perception of design was entirely based on commercial value, which follows a set of rules, and
any divergence from this pattern was interpreted by me as a design lacking in value, resulting in
a loss of much creative thought. Simultaneously, I began to enjoy the new visual experience
brought on by modern technology and engaged in it, eventually abandoning the design's thinking
logic.
After a year and a half, I understood that my first decision was most likely a temporary
compromise based on risk and anxiety, and that it did not solve a practical problem. Even though
I was offered an internship at one of China's major Internet companies six months later, I thought
it did not meet my innermost sense of design and requirements when I returned to the United
States.
Existence and response
I believe that space is not an abstract, independent of human existence, a natural and
objective entity, but something that exists due to human sensual activity, due to human
subjectivity, and created by human practice. A purely objective nature is a repetition of Kant's
meaningless “thing-in-itself”, an empty talk and a conjecture.
It is my personal practice that opens my whole world as the emitter of objectivity, and
space is the object of the objectivity I emit. In such activity, I confirm not only my own subject
32

existence, but also the object existence of space. My 3D digital work, Cocoon, is a figurative
expression of objectivity (Figure 12). The cocoon space presents a virtual spatial conception of
the reality of my existence as a social species of human beings, as well as a psychological
response to the virtual reality of my own state.
Cocoon
In entomology, many insect larvae secrete silk threads before pupating, compiling their
bodies in a shell, the whole shell is the cocoon. Among them, the silkworm cocoon is the most
well-known. There is a Chinese idiom called “zuò jĭan zì fù”, which literally means that the
silkworm spits out silk as a cocoon and wraps itself up. The metaphorical meaning refers to the
things one does to get oneself into trouble.
Cocooning also describes the behavior of a person who chooses to stay at home and
isolate himself from his normal social environment. When there is a major change in the
environment of existence and social influences bring uneasiness and anxiety, people tend to close
themselves off. At the same time, the rapid development of the Internet and virtual technology
has objectively given people access to ways to socialize without the need for face-to-face
Figure 12. Cocoon, digital 3D model

33

interaction. Living in isolation due to the epidemic has amplified these conditions and emotions
at the same time, and people's behavior, whether active or not, has to some extent blurred the
boundary between reality and the virtual in such a physical space.
In Cocoon, the space becomes an enclosed box, the interior is empty, with only an
upside-down person suspended in it. The enclosed space represents the physical isolation of my
body from the natural world, as well as my isolation, as a human being, from sociality.
The form of enclosed space also responds to a dulling of the sense of time. People's
bodies rely on their perception of the natural world to judge time, yet during the isolation of the
epidemic, this ability to perceive time becomes blurred. In the isolated space, people could only
respond to nature through windows, and people's ability to perceive nature was limited to the
only visual space available. At the same time, people are engaged in the virtual Internet world for
a long time, where there is no morning, evening and sunset of the natural world.
The cocoon space reacts to such a state, which is a kind of container of time. The upside-
down person represents the inversion and confusion of time and space perception, while the
crossed arms and curled body represent my self-protection. Unlike hourglasses and other timing
devices that are visually represented, Cocoon Space represents the passage of time with large and
small bubbles floating upward. The trajectory of the bubbles' movement is random, and the
forms are dynamic and fusible. Inside the bubbles display the realities that I experience, which
surround me and reshape me.

34

Chapter 5: Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant influence on us all. People in various
countries and areas are jeopardizing their lives and rights in ways that reflect their cultural
backgrounds. The psychological tensions and traumas, on the other hand, continue to wash over
each of us.
People attempt to relieve stress in a variety of ways. People tend to divert their
investigation of life from the outside to their inner selves when they realize the place, they live in
is irresistibly limited, scrutinizing their own orientation in an attempt to fight the epidemic's
consequences. However, the negative consequences of such a once-in-a-lifetime encounter are
frequently more terrifying than one thinks.
I responded to the whole pandemic by collecting information, creating infographics, and
recording the world around me through my lens. Adherence to basic ethics and loyalty to the
public good, I insisted, can transcend personal benefits and losses. However, the objective limits
of the physical area in which I live, together with my deep-seated self-locked personal
experience, create an unbreakable cycle, and the resulting objective pain has irreparable effects
for me.
In this world, none of us live in isolation, and when we face challenges on our own, we
need the support and assistance of others to get through them. Individual energy is finite, and if
we immerse ourselves in our own world while neglecting to communicate with our surroundings,
we will fall into a void, and no matter how hard we try, it will remain a void without a goal. The
COVID-19 pandemic is far from end, and humanity's future challenges will not be restricted to
infectious diseases.

35

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Abstract (if available)

Abstract In early 2020, an unexpected pandemic surged throughout the globe, upending people's lives. The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated prevention and control policies, such as lockdown and movement restrictions, have impacted numerous sectors of society and every element of life and work for everyone. People have responded and reacted differently to the epidemic and its prevention and control methods. They developed daily plans and shared their work on social media, virtual communities, and other platforms to creatively demonstrate the positive status of personal and social life under the epidemic prevention policy represented by home quarantine, demonstrating the ability to reframe negative events. However, isolation at home has led to problems such as reduced space for activities, loneliness and depression, screen addiction, and fake news and disinformation, all of which have had a negative impact on people. This paper will summarize the primary pandemic prevention programs and the many responses people had to them throughout the pandemic, as well as examine their positive and negative consequences on people's conceptions of themselves in connection to society. Additionally, this study will cover my personal analysis and reflection on my own relationship with society through the presentation of a personal series of design works. Even if I was not infected with COVID, the devastation to my life was profound. Personal isolation and disorientation resulting from travel to and from China muddled my work and research path. As a result of my design research on the effects of COVID, isolation, and change, my work took a turn for the worst, and I was forced to refocus the design work. As a result, the initiatives presented in this thesis take a variety of approaches to examining my experience, including data visualization, documentary photography, and a 3D model evocative of my mental state throughout this time period.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Zhu, Tiancheng (author)

Core Title Existence and response: living in quarantine during a pandemic

School Roski School of Art and Design

Degree Master of Fine Arts

Degree Program Design

Degree Conferral Date 2022-05

Publication Date 04/15/2022

Defense Date 03/08/2022

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag 3D model,beneficial effect,data visualization,detrimental effect,documentary photography,isolated life,OAI-PMH Harvest,pandemic,policies,response,society

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Wojciak, Ewa (committee chair), Ellenburg, Jason (committee member), Greiman, April (committee member), O'Connell, Brian (committee member)

Creator Email 939571686@qq.com,zhutianc@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC110964819

Unique identifier UC110964819

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Zhu, Tiancheng

Type texts

Source 20220415-usctheses-batch-925 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

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