Watercolor Portraits

Masking & Undone

Portrait series made during the height of Covid. Masks are common year-round in Japan so they don’t come with a social stigma. But this period made me consider why people like wearing masks. To hide blemishes, to feel ok forgoing makeup, to hide emotions.

To hide, cover, obscure, conceal.

I then considered what happens when the mask not an option, leading to my Undone series. The shield is gone and we are confronted with vulnerability, an unsafe space. Imperfections and emotions on display, day after day, enough to make one come undone.