Tameca L Coleman
Denver, Colorado
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The first time I went outside in a mask, it was early on in quarantine, and I was wearing all black which is kind of my M.O., but barely anyone else was wearing a mask. Articles had just circulated about how wearing a mask as POC might not bode well for many of us.
It was difficult to tell if what I was feeling was an embarrassment for being different and/or a judgement from others that I was maybe overreacting. Maybe, I was imagining things. I only know that I've been kind of unconsciously adding more color to my walks when I do venture out, and I've been wearing more headwraps because the pressure feels like a comfort.
Tracey Anderson
Colorado Springs, Colorado
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Covid Cowboy
In early March, I took a picture of myself wearing this WWII mask that we had from a relative. At the time, it was almost a joke. The sky was bright blue with puffy clouds behind me, and the contrast was striking. It sat around on my worktable and as the pandemic evolved, so did this piece. I added some black pigment when the news became more dire, more reds as I became angry, yellow when I was fearful. I threw encaustic on it to dull it, dull myself, my senses. I'm not sure this is even done. I may continue adding layers to it for some time to come. Because this isn’t over.
Vanessa Fero
Lima, Peru
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We can’t breathe and fear is suffocating us.
Yann Le Crouhennec
French Alps, France
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Careful Ghost
This piece is inspired by the loss of identity that we experience due to the masks that we all must wear. They turn us into a kind of ghost.
Yeter Beriş
Istanbul, Turkey
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The pandemic made me think that we were experiencing an Armageddon from the first moment it started. It was a claustrophobic time of confrontation with myself, which made me feel like an apocalypse was happening. In these times when I am out of breath, which makes me feel unhappy.
