Masked Identity Final Series

FINAL SERIES

IN PROGRESS

Dimensions: approx. 3 ft height x 1.8 ft length x 1 ft depth

Materials: wire, tulle

Statement:

I created this mask and series to represent the struggle of being weighed down and held back by so much, represented on the right side with the tangle of wire, and then the process of letting go and being free is represented with the white tulle on the left side. I created the tulle on the left to represent a lung which all signifies being able to breathe again. As art students we have all been so stressed the last few weeks in preparation for our finals. We've all been losing sleep, stressed out of our minds, not being able to do anything else and being held back by our responsibilities. I created this mask to represent that struggle. We become so held back and weighed down by all of our responsibilities until we turn in all of our finals and can finally breathe again.

My renaissance symbol was water. I photographed my model outside of the water first and wrapped her in tulle to portray the struggle during finals. I also purposefully made these photos black and white to have a visible contrast with the in-color water photos. Which as a result created a greater effect visually and showed the rebirthing after being done with finals. In the water photos the model is finally able to breathe again and even begins taking the mask off which signifies that she is done with finals and her responsibilities have been lifted. I also included gold flakes which could be another renaissance symbol that express bright and cheerful feelings in the color water photos to add to her feeling of being free and calm once again.