The Corona diary 2020 came about initially as a personal journal. At the beginning of the year, news stories were starting to tell of a virus spreading across Asia. When news came in of the infections in Europe, in Italy and Spain, suddenly things became very close to home, with Vic living in London.
As a way to deal with his anxiousness of the situation, the fatalities and stories of infection that were being shared across all news networks, as well as the uncertainty and lack of information by government, Vic began journaling and chronicling the events as they happened. Purely from personal experience, with illustrated stories filling pages that covered his own living and news stories, he wanted to make sense of an almost suffocating barrage of news through typography and illustration.
Sharing the first few illustrated pages on his social media channels, word quickly spread and one 30 second film he shared of the work, gained 250,000 views and over 12,000 likes, with many hundreds of comments urging Vic to publish as a book. Something he did not consider. But it quickly became obvious that what he was creating was beyond a normal journal.
The Diary spans the time 1st January to 1st June 2020, and is filled with stories from around the world, good, bad and weird. Vic’s personal thoughts, experiences and fears, the way people reacted to the lockdown. How humanity changed, pollution levels dropped, the crisis of food, and key workers keeping the world turning.
The first printed books, designed, illustrated, written and art worked by Vic landed on 28th June. A hardback book, Matt laminated scratch resistant cover with 150gsm Munken paper inside to match the original sketchbooks, with no changes to the original illustrations, the book retained the original work throughout as a real journal should. 6 months in the making, the book was produced as an artists edition, each one signed with a special one off print gifted inside of an edition of 2,500 printed books. By August 15th 2020, the last book was sold. The books have travelled across the world and as a way of Thankyou, Vic donated £5000.00 to the food charity Fareshare in the U.K. the money buying 20,000 meals for families in need.
This book has become a keepsake, an historical document to treasure for generations. People from all walks of life, all cultures and countries have expressed their gratitude at being able to reread the period as many blanked out or could not digest what was happenning at the time. Many lost loved ones and felt lost. This book is a reminder of our fragility. How we have the ability to change and learn and how we should maybe reevaluate what is important.
The book has now been published globally by Frances Lincoln Publishers. Vic was approached by the publishers after being recommended. This is now available globally and further enhances the name Vic Lee in both the artistic and published world.