Two years ago, Alicia Thwaites snapped a touching photo of her toddler reaching toward a window, his grandparents touching the glass from the outside. When COVID-19 started to keep us all isolated, the Winnipeg photog­rapher decided to create connections through similarly styled pictures in a project called Through the Window.

Thwaites began taking photographs of her family and close friends in March. She soon had nearly 70 people reaching out to volunteer for a portrait.

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“I thought it was a way to shed light on the import­ance of social distancing,” says Thwaites, whose nephew has cerebral palsy and a compromised immune system. “As much as it is hard to only see loved ones through a window or at a distance, it’s important because we don’t want to live like this forever.”

Words: Amy van den Berg

This photo essay appeared in Broadview’s July/August 2020 issue.

Alicia Thwaites is a family photographer in Winnipeg.

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