Choice, Mourning, and Stop

© Linda Bond. Courtesy of the artist.

Artist Statement: Un-Masked

During the past several years Americans have faced a deadly disease, widespread racism, an assault on women’s rights and a tumultuous presidential election. The disturbing response and sometimes incompetent leadership during these crises included politicizing the wearing of face masks to protect against COVID-19. Using a template for homemade face masks sourced from the Times early in the pandemic, I made woven paper pieces to speak about our nation’s troubled condition. In addition to working with its content as I have in the past, I used the pages of the New York Times as a source of raw material to be both digitally and physically manipulated. Scanned articles are interwoven to document the crises of 2020-23. These pieces combine form and content to speak about potential threats to our health, our democracy and to justice for all. The work also highlights the resiliency, integrity, bravery, and patriotism of our citizenry in response.