Portrait of Humanity Vol 4: Introduction for Hoxton Mini Press x 1854 Media/BJP

We longed for it so badly. That day when this bleak period of our lives would be declared officially over and we’d emerge, blinking, into glorious spring sunshine, revitalised like creatures fresh from a season of hibernation. That’s not quite how things turned out. The global Coronavirus pandemic ended ‘not with a bang but a whimper’, to quote T.S. Elliot. Arguably, it has not really ended at all, but rumbles on, no longer headline news, instead a constant unnerving background hum that many prefer to ignore. 

And who can blame them? When Covid took hold, it seemed to eclipse everything else in its significance. As it has receded, old problems have slipped back into view and some new ones have joined them. The grim prospect of war, 84 million displaced people internationally who, due to conflict or oppression, have been forced to flee their homes, ever-rising inequality, economic crises, and then there’s that small matter of the climate emergency. Looking through the Portrait of Humanity Volume 4 shortlist, those troubling aspects to contemporary society are palpable…