Jeanette Hernandez is a 22 year old from South Gate, California. She is a first-generation college student from her family, majoring in Psychological Science. Currently, a senior student, she is expected to graduate in the spring of 2021. She has worked as a Community Assistant for UCI Housing for four years and hopes to enroll in a graduate program in the future. Jeanette created these two pieces of art as part of her archive submission.

Laney Dang is a third-year UCI undergraduate from San Jose, CA. She is a full-time student studying Psychological Science with a minor in Management. As part of her project, Laney created an original artwork series focused on themes of the pandemic, such as the Black Lives Matter protests, toilet paper shortage, 2020 election, and return to in-person instruction.

Annelise Holland is a fourth year undergraduate student majoring in Criminology, Law and Society and minoring in History. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic she lived on-campus at UCI, but moved back home to Madera Ranchos, CA during the campus closure. She created this art piece, featuring lyrics from “Graceland Too,” to represent her mental state during the pandemic.

Serotonin Spent is a digital drawing that I created to represent my mental state during the beginning to middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly April 2020- August 2020. This is the time when I had to leave my on-campus life, including my friends, my job, and my housing, to move back home to comply with shutdown orders. The words at the top of the picture are lyrics from a song called “Graceland Too,” which appears on musician Phoebe Bridger’s second album, Punisher (2020). The lyrics read, “so we spent what was left of our serotonin to chew on our cheeks and stare at the moon said she knows she’ll live through it to get to this moment.” I interpreted these lyrics to represent the idea of mental illness, which has been a concerning issue during the pandemic for many individuals. Serotonin is a mood-stabilizing hormone in the brain that contributes to happiness and a good well-being. A lack of serotonin can often lead to depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders. Therefore, in reference to the lyrics, the “spending” of the last of one’s serotonin could cause them increased depression or anxiety. In the picture, the money underneath the skeleton hand has the chemical compound of serotonin, while the coins have “5-HT” written on them; 5-HT is the scientific name for serotonin. The skeleton hand in the foreground represents a person suffering from mental health problems. In this sense, the skeleton arm is someone who is suffering from depression or anxiety and, quite literally, spending the last of the serotonin they have left to get momentary happiness. Finally, the ghosts in the background represent the various traumas, fears, doubts, or hardships that individuals suffer from, which can cause increased harm during episodes of depression and anxiety. The ghosts are floating upwards, away from the skeleton’s body, as it gets its temporary release of happiness from the serotonin.

In her art piece, Alissa Thai depicts three soldiers battling coronaviruses with cleaning products. The text in the background says, “I will defend the the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic,” a reference to the official United States Oath of Allegiance for the Armed Forces.

This artwork started off as an idea that popped into my head. I thought it could be somewhat of a comedic relief to some as viruses are often described with war terminology. The virus being the enemy and our immune systems being compared to the military. In this picture, three soldiers stand ready to fight the virus using cleaning products as the virus continues to advance towards them. The background has transparent wording spanning across the entire canvas. It is part of the oath that soldiers take when they enlist in the Army.