Mask Queens: Mixing fear with fantasy

The angry bird masks the frustrations within. This mask shows the simmering frustrations of people having been forced to be in isolation from society. The angry bird wants the situation to normalise.

The authentic Kerala lungi mask here, though somewhat effective, has a touch of the roots of the state.

Flying off to take care of family. Even though other masks above have a touch of creativity, sometimes, practicality takes precedence. Gertrude Maria George has to travel back to her family, like many others, for whom the world of travel has now changed forever.

A protective mom: Flavia Nagda wants to safeguard not only herself but her dog too. These masks were made from fabric like scarfs and dupattas, found easily at home

The multiple images above show how the group chat about masks evolved into this creative project. Fashioning a burkha out of a scarf or batman masks, there’s no dearth of imagination in these women.

While we are protecting ourselves during the pandemic, it seems like our animals need protection from us. Ironically, we are a pandemic to the animals of our planet.

Locked down...but not knocked out. A mask to make the headlines, surely.