Kay Reese
(She/Her)
Mask Off, 2020
Photography
Artist Statement:
Mask Off is an original photo-based capture of a Black woman in the moving light of a flat-bed scanner collaged with the photograph of a mask worn during the Corona Virus pandemic. It is a metaphor for the pandemic of racial indifference and violence against Black people.
In Western societies, especially in the US more Black men and boys are
killed and/or incarcerated than any other racial group. The pain of the women who birth them, love them, and bear their children are rarely acknowledged, and most often unbelieved. 'Mask Off' references those worn during the Corona Virus pandemic, and the continuing pandemic of racial indifference, and hostility.
Alt Text: During COVID-19 we wear masks to save our lives. 'Mask Off' speaks of our need to take them off when living hurts. This photo scan depicts an elongated black woman with her mouth open like she's screaming. There is a red heavy-duty mask wrapped around her.

$300 USD
unframed print
Adrienne's Mask, 2020
Photography

Alt Text: Adrienne's mask helped save her life from COVID-19, but not from the pain of losing her father. In this photo scan, a black woman's face is half facing forward and half looking to the side. A delicate imprint of a mask is over her face. A worried look is in her eyes.
$300 USD
unframed print
Artist Statement:
Adrienne's Mask is a photo-based live-capture of a Senior Black woman in the moving light of a flat-bed scanner, collaged with a photo of a mask worn against the Corona Virus pandemic.
In most "modern" societies older women are marginalized to the point of complete invisibiity. No longer desirable as sexual partners, useful as child-bearers or workers we are no longer useful in currency-driven Western societies. This is particularly true of women of color especially dark-skinned Black women for whom their rich hue is the cause of additional scorn.
About Kay Reese

Kay Reese is an award-winning visual artist/photographer actively practicing in New Jersey, USA. She has been alive for 75 years.