We find ourselves living in interesting times. The deepest of political divisions, long-overdue racial awakenings, a worldwide pandemic. Plus uncertainty. We are destabilized. But never without hope.
And so it has come to pass that the face mask is now the sign of our uncertain times. They are everywhere. There is some reassurance and hope in seeing another who wears the mask. But sadly, there is an ugly downside. That comes from the disrespectful or careless (or both?) wearer who turns their protective shield into trash. No. Something worse than trash... litter.
To bring attention to this matter, I began photographing discarded face masks. Over the course of one year, and with help from friends and family, I've gathered over 2,000 images all the while thinking about a PSA or art project. Make something out of all of this. Make something good out of all this litter. Encouraged by the acceptance of a proposal sent to Santa Monica's "Art of Recovery" Project, I set about learning how to digitaly work with this collection of images.