2020, archival print

I had this project on my mind since wearing a mask for the first time, back in San Francisco, California. It was in 2017, when the fires were raging so heavily that it was almost impossible to breathe. During the Pandemic, this was the third time in my life that I have found myself in this situation. The portraits tie into my work Concentrates, a visualization of emotional messages hidden in acronyms. I shot this series during the COVID-19 pandemic, while quarantined in NYC. Having experienced the unknown and unusual limitations having to wear a mask I caught myself focusing on people’s eyes only in order to connect, to understand.