Introduction
Following the Biennial theme of Swarm: Ecology, Digitality, Sociality, this exhibition is designed to explore and discuss the realities of social distancing in a time of change and upheaval, as we have navigated the past year while wearing an additional accessory on our faces. In the time of COVID-19, how do we challenge and interrogate the position of face masks in our individual and collective experiences? The purpose of this exhibition is to explore the artisan’s design reaction to the proliferation of face masks (indeed, the swarm) into daily life. The featured wearable art masks correlate with designs developed over the course of the artisan’s career as a professional costume designer, and act as a bridge between current practice and previous creations, developing objects to complement designs previously viewed as complete. In a parallel way, where we once considered our daily outfits as completed ensembles, our current existence in public spaces necessitates the addition of protective face coverings. Together, we create a swarm of be-masked faces, presenting more anonymized visages and working together for the greater good.
Exhibit Orientation
This exhibition is designed as an evolving blog post series, culminating in a collection of images, video, and textual information on a series of wearable art-style masks created since the start of the pandemic and the March 2020 lockdown. 20 mask posts were updated between May and June of 2021 with related information for context including inspiration, garments and accessories, and discussion of the masks’ creation. Each post is populated to thematic pages on the site: Intricate, Playful, Reflective, and Motley.
- Intricate: The masks on this page are designed to feature intricate details such as hand embellishment or fabric manipulations. These masks typically take the longest amount of time to create.
- Playful: The masks in this section are bright, happy, and whimsical in their designs, speaking to a lighthearted design ethos.
- Reflective: Metallics and mirrors and introspection, oh my! The Reflective masks feature a play on the word: literal reflections can be found through the use of mirrors or shiny materials while others offer insights into the design process and deeper thought.
- Motley: Varying widely in substance and style from color and texture to fabrics and theme, these masks are one-offs with no other connections to overarching aesthetic design themes.
Viewers are invited to leave comments at the end of each post, and to reflect on their own adaptations to the use of masks in daily life. Welcome to BeMask’d!
This project is funded in part by the Cornell Council for the Arts. 
About the Artist:
Jenny Leigh Du Puis is a PhD Candidate in Apparel Design at Cornell University, where she is combining her extensive professional career as a circus and theatrical costume designer and technician with her formal training in functional apparel design. Her dissertation research centers on the safety and function of attire worn for the extreme physical performance of circus arts. Other research interests include functional apparel design, practice-led design research, performance costume, the integration of contemporary technologies with traditional handcraft techniques, and dress and identity.
In her professional career as a costume designer and technician, Jenny Leigh has worked with such companies and organizations as Cirque Us, Circus Smirkus, Circus Couture, Circus Culture, and Cirque du Soleil’s KÀ, as well as the Las Vegas productions of Monty Python’s Spamalot and Rock of Ages, and the 2007 touring production of Hairspray! The Musical. She has designed costumes and accessories for many philanthropic organizations and events, most recently including hundreds of fabric N95 mask covers and ear savers for Cure 4 the Kids in Las Vegas and an ICU in Houston.