Masking
Photograph Series
After looking at Bob And Roberta Smith’s artwork and the idea of sound conveyed through visuals, I explored banners and protest through art. I wanted to integrate this idea with the one of clothing versus freedom. Whilst the main desire for this piece was for it to embody the idea of a walking protest, it does not focus on a specific cause and instead suggests many different ones. An important precaution often repeated when attending protests is the hiding of your identity – through clothes that can both hide your face and protect your body, like scarves, long sleeved tops, and ski masks. My decision to incorporate the ski mask in this piece served for this purpose but additionally to echo the term ‘masking’, coined by individuals with autism referencing a desire to better fit into what society deems ‘normal’ (neurotypical) behaviours by suppressing autistic traits (hence the title). I wanted the colours of the letters to subtly hint at the rainbow flag (the shadow of ‘ALWAYS’) as a hint to queer history. Muddled in with the other colours, it is harder to notice, but it is there when closely observed.
I shot a series of photographs as my model stood in the street and people walked past, reinforcing the idea of the walking protest. The images were shot on a Canon 5D Mark IV.