April-June 2020.
A performance series done in response to the first lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic. On the surface humorous, Moving Masks became a project about place, and connection. It also references the long history of performative self-portraiture, with a twist.
My masked companions ranged from oldest friends through colleagues and an acquaintance. Social media was intrinsic and as the series gained popularity, it connected me with strangers who joined in.
Throughout Lockdown, I would meet up with a person(s), make us a mask (paper masks, theatrical in their insubstantiality), then safely protected and appropriately distanced, we would go on an outing or engage in an activity. Encounters lasted for hours, or minutes. A map built of places in Sydney I frequent. As time went on and restrictions eased, the Masks recorded increased access and lent novelty to activities previously taken for granted, such as going for walks, or having people over for dinner.
There were 19 masks done in all, the final one a coda. A selection of about half is on display here.
