Jameisha Prescod is used to documenting her life – and health – on social media. The London filmmaker and journalist, who lives with the long-term condition, lupus, runs a popular Instagram account, You Look Okay To Me, which she calls “a digital space for the #chronicillness people”, as well as a Youtube channel of the same name. She has guested on HuffPost UK’s podcast, Chronic and recently won a positive impact award for her work.
Now Prescod can add the 2021 Wellcome Photography Prize to the list. This annual showcase champions visual stories that focus on issues of our time – 31 photographers made this year’s shortlist, but it’s Prescod who received top honours for a powerful self-portrait, entitled Entangled, taken at home and showing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on her mental health.
Lockdown has transformed many of our bedrooms and front rooms into mini offices, making it difficult for us to escape. But Prescod tells HuffPost UK she was inspired to take this photo to show a “real moment” and that she wanted her image to capture the idea of finding peace amongst the chaos.
“It’s where I work a full-time job, eat, sleep, catch up with friends and most importantly cry,” she says of the bedroom where she shielded for months and where, increasingly, she found herself “drowning in the clutter”.
