A PHOTOGRAPHY student has set about capturing lockdown through a lens... from the inside.

Unable to visit people in person amid the pandemic, Sophie Walker, 22, who studies at the University of Brighton and lives in Hove, asked people to take their own photos from inside their houses.

Each shot shows a view from inside, looking out of a window. Her project is called Inside, Looking Out.

Sophie wanted to capture the experience of having to stay home amid the pandemic. She said while people are keeping apart, looking out of the window is bringing everybody together.

Explaining her project, she said: “On March 23, the UK, along with the rest of the world was ordered by the Government to stay indoors as a response to limit the spread of Covid-19.

“Such control over society hadn’t been seen since the war years. Home by home closed its doors to the outside world. The only exceptions were escapes for grocery shopping and daily exercise.

“We could no longer socialise with family or friends outside of our households and groups of more than two in public were banned.

“In one day, our lives were changed. Intimacy and closeness became a crime.

“This led to people being forced to be alone with their thoughts. I wanted to make a memento to remember this dramatic moment in our history. I wanted to discover what was going through people’s minds each day.

“I focused on windows. Windows became our way to look out on to an empty world.

“A window has always been our point to ponder, to collect and gather thoughts of the day.

“This is the first interactive project in my portfolio.

“I took to social media and used it as a tool to request people from all over the world to send me images of their windows and any accompanying quotes to narrate their thoughts during the pandemic.

“The responses are certainly mixed, some quite emotionally tied to the current affairs and some demonstrating a mentality that is preserved throughout the crisis, perhaps focusing on the simple things such as keeping the garden tidy. I enjoy the contrast between both perspectives and feel it provides a sense of layered depth to the project.”

You can see the full gallery at www.sophiewalkerart.co.uk/work/insidelookingout or on Instagram at @Inside_looking_out__