08 APR 2020 My name is Alba Rey. I'm an artist doing mainly illustration, tattoo art and analog photography. I originally come from Valencia, Spain, but I moved to live in London 8 years ago, then moved to Berlin 3 years ago.

COVID-19 has definitely changed my perspective about my work. Coming from a very nostalgic and melancholic theme, I'm mainly working with black and withe images. This situation with the coronavirus made me start looking for more colours in the light, and I have been working on bringing a new palette into my work ever since

I have also been returning to experiments with animations; I brought back "Eye", an interactive animated project that I started a year ago. I loved it, but I had to stop for the lack of time as the animations are shot by shot and take a large amount of time.

Using Instagram stories, I ask people about their wonders, dreams and desires, translating them into short conceptual animations. I like to say "'Eye' is your dreams through my eyes". You can find all the "Eye" stories in my highlights on Instagram.

Other things I have been truthful is linocut illustrations and I hand painted some clothes.

This pandemic hit right in the middle of my travels, so I had to come back to Berlin immediately. The first week was very frustrating as all my plans were gone. My first impulse was to try to create as much as possible. I felt I was very hard on myself though, so in the second week, I took everything with more calm; it is time to look after ourselves and each other. Eating healthy, exercising and talking regularly with your beloved ones are the basics of what we all know and need.

On the other hand, I have been thinking that this is the right time to ask myself, "what's next?" I’ve been looking into my designs or tattoos or photography and really meditating about what I want to improve and where I want to evolve.

Looking at how my favourite artists are using their time is truly inspiring and powerful. I have also been looking with more focus at my art books and found a trove of inspiring details that I didn't pay that much attention to before.

I post weekly art for sale in my stories on my instagram @le_rey__ and also on my photography page @inthenameofrey. You can find more about me on my website. I'm also currently booking my tattoos appointments for May and June in Berlin, which can also be found here.