Artist Statement
The large-scale color photographs from Mask Series are all images
of myself wearing masks, which I create out of pantyhose. The masks
are hand-sewn and incorporate various materials such as wire, lace,
beads, hair, plastic mesh, plastic bags, and thread. By photographing
myself wearing them, I am making public a private performance. The
masks themselves are made out of material that is normally hidden
under the clothes, close to the body and private. Here they are
exposed.
I work with pantyhose because they are a highly fetishized material
but also make reference to the pantyhose masks of criminals. This
suggestion of illicit behavior is juxtaposed with the overt sexual
connotation of placing undergarments over the head. The act of placing
the crotch of the pantyhose over the mouth and face is both erotic
and obscene gesture.
The mystery that the mask creates highly sexualizes it. There is
a tension created by veiling. Some people are afraid of not knowing
what lies beneath, while others are enticed by the boundary (not
only the physical but the physical but the psychological boundary)
that the veil creates. Mask Series explores both the empowerment
and the vulnerability of masking one’s identity through the
use of the seduction and fear that the mask creates.
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