In recent times I have become fascinated with masked portraits. The shapes of the images and the changing society during the COVID-19 pandemic every day informed a new way of looking. How do we read a person when we can only see their eyes? How does that affect their anonymity? Does wearing a face mask take something away from our individuality and sense of self? This is a new series – one I am just starting to explore in more detail.

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My newest series of works “Masked” grew from the pandemic and from having to change jobs during the initial COVID outbreak in China. I began in a new school where I taught 750 different students every week. Each student and staff member wore a compulsory face mask which made them impossible to get to know. It was overwhelming to see so many faces in one place with most of their faces covered. This work is about the unknown, the unrecognisable. It explores the new found necessity of looking more closely at the finer details of someone's presence when we can no longer rely on our ability to read their expressions.