Irene with Alberto and Cesar with Ginger

Two people hold cats: a woman with a neon pink shirt and a denim jacket stands next to a man in a Coors tee shirt at the front entryway of a brick home with a white framed arched window.

Before the pandemic hit, Cesar co-owned a detailing shop in addition to working as a manager at a manufacturing company. When COVID-19 arrived in Kentucky, business at the detailing shop began to dry up fast; they eventually had to close the shop. Cesar has since been working on turning his own garage into a space where he can detail cars. So far, he has installed light fixtures, sinks, counter spaces, shelving, and a water filter so that chlorine and other minerals are purified from the water he uses to clean his clients’ cars. He is finally ready for business!

Irene still works at an addiction clinic. “While Kentucky is currently winning the fight against this pandemic, we are still losing terribly to another epidemic: Addiction,” she told us.

Lexington in the Time of COVID-19 is an artwork about people practicing social distancing at a time of a deadly virus. And also offering kindness.

Kurt Gohde and Kremena Todorova capture photographs at the periphery of American culture, where drag queens, discarded couches, and abandoned motel signs exist.