Thesis Project #3: Photos with Burlap Mask

For this project, I explored how I hide my emotions when they are elevated. I am interested in how physical masks can portray this idea, and thus looked at ways other artists have made masks. The texture, flexibility, and rawness of burlap caught my attention - I decided to work with it. By using the burlap mask as a prop in my pictures, I approach photography differently from how I have before - creating props and using them in photos, rather than using digital processes to create virtual transformations. Furthermore, I present my process as a series of photos that portray myself in isolation: slowly, one by one, I let my emotions out, and slowly, one by one, I sew them back up and lock them behind my self-made mask.

Individually, each photo represents a stage of my emotions: sometimes, they break through the masks, but often they remain inside. Together, they represent my interaction with emotions and with the environment - starting with myself and by myself I begin to break through my self-made walls.

This project took me sometime due to the fuzziness and discomfort caused by the mask, making me hard to breathe and causing me to inhale a considerable amount of burlap. In other words, the process of wearing the mask fit the piece in that it physically and mentally "choked" me inside. In the end, with the help of my friends I figured out ways to quickly take pictures and finished several pieces, creating a series of pieces. I also considered the environment of the piece after talking to Ms.Watkins, and reminded myself to look at how this element interact with the viewer's emotions. Furthermore, by intentionally focusing on aspects of environment, such as increasing the contrasts in the roof or making a simulated sunset, or focusing on a row of books with relatable topics, I hope to draw the viewers into this thought bubble of mine and make them consider how such choices change how they feel about the pieces.

Materials:

- Burlap

- Iphone (photographs)

- String

Sketches & Inspirations:

Jean Paul GAULTIER EYE Earrings Photograph by Irving Penn 1995