Tag: masks

Masks are a paradox as they are the only things I know that make people look both scary and scared. I have recently started photographing people in masks (after having mostly avoided) as the more normal they become in society the weirder it gets for me. Masks are worn at Halloween to freak people out so there is no way this constant sight is not having an effect on us all. It makes people feel unapproachable, almost hostile, and that can’t be a good thing. And once more for the record, I am not an an anti-masker, I understand their necessity but now, when I look at people wearing them, including myself, it is starting to disturb me.

I know we’re all just trying to get on with it as best we can, but I would really like for a return to a world when masks were only seen on October 31st or when being operated on (which you wouldn’t even actually see if you were under general anaesthetic..heckling my own reference there for some reason).

Funny story..I was recently asked by a potential client if I had any shots of people in masks so I had a root around in the vault and found some great shots from fancy dress parties, Comic Con and so forth and sent them off to them and they came back to me and said..no, that’s not the sort of mask we mean, we want the Covid kind. Oh! Right..of course. Soz. Gotcha. I was a lil bit embarrassed as I should have worked it out, being in the middle of a pandemic surrounded by people with face masks on everywhere I went. And yet, in spite of all we have witnessed this last year, in my head, masks are still for cosplay not for virus protection. Umm, was that a funny story? Ish I guess. Best I got right now.

I don’t really know why I all of a sudden feel I am freaked out by people in masks, I should have got used to it by now, but I can’t quite shake it. I think it’s seeing all these startled eyes peering out from underneath going..is it over yet? Is it safe to come out? Truth is the reality of the threat is way less relevant than people’s perception. For example they now know that it is microscopically unlikely that you can become infected whilst walking around in the open air and yet, from what I can see, mask wearing outdoors is actually on the up which shows how terrified people still are, regardless of the actual threat. Personally I just wanna see faces again and I’m sure, once that happens it will make everyone chill the fuck out as they won’t have to deal with the sight of hoards of Jason’s from Friday 13th staggering towards them everyday…won’t that be pleasant?

P.s I will not be posting anything next week as have to do maintenance on my website..normal service will resume the week after 🤞

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Shots depicting life behind a mask this week. No aspect of living has escaped it. This is our life. But we only wear them for one reason. So that one day we won’t have to. I should say upfront I am categorically not an anti-masker. They are essential to halt the spread of the virus but I am anti-mask in the sense that I don’t like wearing one. I want to get past this stage because this bit sucks. This is no way to live so we can’t make this our reality just because we can’t reign in our behaviour. We are too selfish and too undisciplined. We want it over but aren’t prepared to do what is necessary for that to happen. You can bang on about freedoms all you like but this ain’t freedom. This is the opposite. We are trapped in a prison of our own making. And we need it to end.

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I have a friend who lives in Thailand ( Hi Nat!) and it pains me to see that their society has effectively returned to normal. The virus is behind them and they have now moved on. Live music events are back, social distancing is over, their previous existence has returned..and all because they did what was necessary. They knew that extreme measures were required to eliminate it in order for normal life to return. And it has.

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And the reason we are still up to our ears in this Corona crap in Europe and in America is because we ‘ve all been a bit shit about the whole thing since the off. Both our governments response and our own slackness, driven largely by a total lack of concern for anyone other than ourselves and our inner circle. We have all been focussed primarily on how it has affected us as individuals, how it impacted our own lives, what we have personally lost. It seems we cannot see beyond our own story of woe when clearly the only way to beat this is to treat it is a societal problem we are part of and have a unified response. We cannot move forward on the virus or the climate until we see the human race as one big community. Right now it feels we just see ourselves as single entities all crammed into the same place all fighting separately not together. And as Yoda said to Luke in Empire:

“and that is why you fail…”

( been a while since i used a star wars metaphor but bang into the Mandalorian at mo and it has awoken my inner fan boy, fyi and all..)