This version of my annual 'Year in Review' project was inspired by Ancient Egyptian wall paintings. Each year in review features a reference to a specific period of art history as a way to allude to that year’s place in our future history books. Drawing upon the past to illustrate contemporary times. I look forward to sharing this project with everyone each year but it always brings up difficult stories. When researching and looking back on each month, the news is always a mix of good and bad. Stranger Things 4, and Beyoncé’s Renaissance find their way between ongoing news about the war in Ukraine, the Convoy Protests, and inflation. These and many more events from the last year all find their way into my 2022 year in review. The Ancient Egyptian style imagery spans across the rectangular structure, organized in the way I mentally picture the calendar year. Sometimes called ‘calendar synesthesia’, this neurological phenomenon affects how certain people’s visual pathways are stimulated when thinking of the months of the year. I’ve chosen to highlight important global and national moments that represent the highs and lows of the year, from political events, to pop culture phenomena. For more information on the background of this project please visit my 2020 blog post.
Inspiration: Ancient Egyptian Wall Paintings
MONTHLY VISUAL 'KEY'
January
(2nd) Omicron strain of Covid-19 surges worldwide.
(3rd) Elizabeth Holmes, founder of blood-testing start-up Theranos is found guilty on four counts of fraud.
(13th) Britain’s Prince Andrew is stripped of his military titles and royal patronages by Buckingham Palace, amid continuing sexual assault allegations.
(20th) Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard (publisher of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft) for $70 billion. The biggest-ever gaming and tech takeover.
(31st) Popular online game Wordle is bought by The New York Times.
February
(4th) XXIV Olympic Winter Games open in Beijing, China.
(6th) Ottawa declares a state of emergency over the trucker convoy protest against a Covid vaccination mandate on the US-Canada border.
(14th) Russian figure skater, Kamila Valieva, tests positive for a banned medication. Officials allow Valieva’s continued participation despite uproar from the IOC.
(24th) Vladimir Putin announces the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine to “demilitarize” the country moments before launching a full-scale invasion.
March
(7th) Russian invasion of Ukraine leads to 1.7 million people fleeing the country.
(8th) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks virtually to the UK parliament “We will not fail. We will fight till the end”.
(27th) 94th Academy Awards: CODA wins best picture, best actor Will Smith controversially slaps host Chris Rock live on stage.
(29th) In a major victory for Ukraine, Russia announces it is withdrawing its badly mauled forces from around Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.
April
(19th) In the US, inflation hits 8.5%, the highest since 1981, driven by a rise in gas prices, rent, and food.
(20th) Netflix suffers its first subscriber loss in a decade, losing 200,000 customers.
(20th) Twitter announces a deal to sell itself to Elon Musk for $44 billion.
(26th) World Bank warns that the war in Ukraine will cause the largest commodity shock since the 1970s, with large economic and humanitarian effects.
May
(7th) Afghan women issued decree to cover their faces in public (hijab reaching head to toe) or her male guardian faces criminal punishment.
(26th) Premiere of ABBA Voyage, a virtual concert with computer generated images of the Swedish pop band.
(27th) The Edmonton Oilers take victory over Calgary Flames in the Battle of Alberta during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
(27th) Top Gun: Maverick is theatrically released, grossing >$1.4 billion worldwide.
(27th) The fourth season of Stranger Things is released on Netflix. Kate Bush’s 1985 song, ‘Running Up That Hill (Deal with God)’, featured in the show, reaches #1 on the UK Singles Chart.
June
(2nd) Johnny Depp is awarded $15 million in damages and compensation in highly reported defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard.
(2nd) Queen Elizabeth II marks her Platinum Jubilee with four days of celebrations.
(24th) US Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade in a 6-3 vote, eliminating constitutional right to choose abortion.
(25th) Japan records its highest-ever temperature of 40.2 C in Isezaki.
July
(7th) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces his resignation after pressure from the mass resignations of his ministers.
(8th) Shinzō Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan dies after being shot twice.
(19th) Temperatures exceed 40°C in parts of England for 1st time ever.
(23rd) WHO declares monkeypox to be a public health emergency of international concern with 16,000 cases in 75 countries.
(24th) Pope Francis arrives in Edmonton to meet with and apologize to First Nation, Métis and Inuit communities for their treatment at church-run residential schools.
August
(8th) Beyoncé’s single “Break My Soul” is #1 on Billboard’s Top 100, the same week her “Renaissance” album reaches No. 1 on Billboard’s 200 chart.
(8th) FBI conduct a search of former US President Donald Trump’s Florida home, Mar-a-Largo, over his handling of classified government documents.
(8th) Olivia Newton-John, British-Australian singer and actress dies of breast cancer.
(9th) Tennis superstar Serena Williams announces her intention to retire.
September
(1st) “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” premieres on Amazon Prime Video.
(8th) Queen Elizabeth II dies at 96 after ruling for 70 years as the UK’s longest-serving monarch. Her eldest son inherits the throne as King Charles III.
(10th) Flooding in Pakistan causes displacement of 33 million people and damage estimated at $30 billion.
(14th) Procession of Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster to lie in state.
(21st) Vladimir Putin announces partial mobilization of Russian population, drafting between 300,000 and 1.2 million men to fight in the invasion of Ukraine.
October
(8th) The Kerch bridge built by Russia to link Crimea to Russia and symbol of Russia’s illegal occupation of Ukraine is partly blown up.
(20th) UK Prime Minister Liz Truss announces her resignation after just 44 days in office, making it the shortest term in the country’s history.
(23rd) Xi Jinping secures record third term as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.
(25th) Brands cut ties with Kanye West over anti-Semitic remarks he made in interviews and on Twitter.
(27th) Elon Musk officially takes ownership and control of Twitter.
(31st) Taylor Swift becomes the first artist in history to claim all top 10 slots on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart; all tracks from her album Midnights.
November
(15th) Ticketmaster sells more than 2 million tickets for Taylor Swift’s The Eras tour; the most tickets ever sold in a single day for an artist.
(15th) World’s population reaches 8 billion, just 11 years after passing 7 billion.
(20th) The FIFA World Cup is held in Qatar.
(20th) Disney announces Bob Iger’s return as CEO less than a year after he retired.
(30th) “As It Was” by Harry Styles is the most streamed song on Spotify in 2022.
December
(5th) Iranian senior official confirms the country’s Morality Police have been shut down in a concession to three months of nationwide protests.
(8th) American basketball star, Brittany Griner, is released by Russian authorities in a prisoner exchange for Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout.
(16th) Avatar: The Way of Water is released 13 years after the first film.
