TORONTO -- A Toronto photographer has created an uplifting project to unite people around the world through the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like so many, Anika Kin had to stop working because of the virus, and when she did, she found people online who were struggling.

“They were stressed, they were lost,” Kin told CTV News Toronto Thursday from her home in North York.

Kin created ‘Sunbeams on the wall’. She takes screen grabs from video chats and edits them into art. She also interviews her subject and writes stories about how the outbreak is affecting them, and shares their supportive words for others.

“I found that these days we really have a lot to say,” Kin said.

“People sit at home, they are reflecting they are exploring themselves, they see the world differently.”

Performer Girish Sharma took part in the project from lockdown New Delhi, India.

He travelled from Mumbai to be with his older parents and no longer has his guitar, which is a big change. Instead, he’s picked up playing the flute.

“My philosophy says if there is a problem and you keep looking at the problematic side of it, there is no way to go. You have to look at the brighter side, the options, the solution, this the only way we can live,” Sharma said.

Benedict Horváth is a Hungarian pianist in Switzerland who’s been dealing with cancelled performances, and also had his picture taken.

”I like them very much, not just mine,” he joked. “She’s able to somehow really present the person is their true self somehow.” 

Art

So far Kin has profiled a mix of front line health care workers and artists from about a dozen countries.

"My goal, that people will see this and feel they are not alone,” Kin said. “That they see experiences of others and feel more comfortable."