Statement
This series of works began as a desire to transform portraiture into an abstracted,
bizarre portrayal of individuals wearing extreme expressions. What evolved is a collection of heads with masked faces reminiscent of militant extremists out for blood.
The masked male faces I portray are based on today’s global styles of military combat head gear. They compelled me to explore the symbolic associations of warfare and the act of taking up arms behind cover. I’m interested in the masked face as a tool for aggression, particularly “the sniper”, – those that use high ballistic range shooting to kill anonymously from a distance. I began to see their facial coverings as not just a barrier against vulnerability and identification, but also as an indicator of personal power and invincibility.
The masks are a signifier of disengagement from the humanity of the enemy. In this drama of warfare, we are forced to confront the faceless enemy and he is no longer hidden from view. He is identified only by his combat head gear. His…”identity is wrapped up in his sense of how safe he feels, and the “other” may have to die so that he feels protected.”