The large-scale color photographs from Mask Series are all images of myself wearing masks, which I create out of pantyhose. The masks are hand-sewn and incorporate various materials, such as wire, lace, beads, hair, plastic mesh, plastic bags, and thread. By photographing myself wearing them, I am making public a private performance. The masks themselves are made out of material that is normally hidden under the clothes, close to the body and private. Here they are exposed.
I work with pantyhose because they are a highly fetishized material but also make reference to the pantyhose masks of criminals.This suggestion of illicit behavior is juxtaposed with the overt sexual connotation of placing undergarments over the head. The act of placing the crotch of the pantyhose over the mouth and face is both an erotic and obscene gesture.
The mystery that the mask creates highly sexualizes it. There is a tension created by veiling. Some people are afraid of not knowing what lies beneath, while others are enticed by the boundary (not only the physical but the psychological boundary) that the veil creates. Mask Series explores both the empowerment and the vulnerability of masking one's identity, through the use of the seduction and fear that the veil creates.
