Sequestered with Memory

Handmade ceramic tiles, mirror glass & photolithographs on clay, 25” x 20”, Artist’s Collection

Made during Covid isolation, this piece evolved over three months. Starting with the central figure of me holding one of my masks, I imagined it as the head of John the Baptist on a silver tray. The spirals emanating from it formed unexpected shapes, which I filled with an asymmetrical balance of tile shards and glass. All the photo images are of the same mask, except for one—the small, upper right. That’s me over 40 years ago when I made the mask. Working alone, sequestered with memories of masks in my past life, I was now wearing other masks to ward off contagion. (Original photos: Wendy F. Lang, except “young me”)