Designer Lydia Cambron has lovingly remade the final scenes of 2001: A Space Odyssey, using only what she had to hand during lockdown in New York.
Described as ‘a minor saga of quarantine and isolation’, the film is a like-for-like recreation of the original – albeit with a few changes that poke some gentle fun.
Instead of an astronaut suit, Cambron is decked out in red sweatpants, a hoodie, and a facemask, while the grand interiors are replaced by the designer’s Brooklyn apartment. Instead of ‘ageing’ makeup, Cambron has donned a white sheet mask.
Even the final credits have been paid due attention, reproduced using fragments of jigsaw puzzles, book covers and a pair of white Crocs, which stand-in for the star child.
The film took several months of work, with the designer starting in late March and continuing throughout the height of the COVID-19 lockdown. She’s described it as a reflection on the ‘mundane dramas’ of self-isolation and draws parallels between some of the themes of Stanley Kubrick’s film and the collective experience of lockdown.
As she puts it: ‘The narrowness of daily life in a single space, transitioning from confusion to acceptance, a distorted sense of time, and “returning” after a transformational event – all experiences analogous to quarantine.’