Day: May 8, 2023

“The eyes behind the mask” is a set of portraits taken in 2020 of NHS hospital staff in Ipswich Hospital. It is taken by Colin Gray, one of the hospital staff.

The tone of the photographs is all black and white. The masks are portrayed to be lighter than the background in all photographs, drawing attention to the faces of the individual within the photographs. The use of black and white photography could be of symbolic or connotative purposes (e.g. darkness associated with despair, light associated with hope), but could be to eliminate distractors from the more complex backgrounds within the photographs. Some of the photographs (clockwise from top left: 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 9th) seem to have a black vignette effect surrounding the borders of the image which could also, likely, be used to put more emphasis and focus on the faces and away from the background obstacles. The contrasting effect derived from the white and black portions of the image shifts the focus toward the head within the photograph. I personally think that these photographs may be more effective on a completely plain background, but considering the circumstances of these photographs, it was not accomplished due to this being taken within a hospital and not a photography studio.

All of the individuals are portrayed in focus and very sharply, with most photographs having the background out of focus due to a shallow aperture. This effectively limits the interference that the background may have on the heads/faces, which are the subject of the photographs. In some photographs, the individuals may be oversharpened, producing some texture on certain parts of the picture that attract the viewer’s attention.

The skin’s texture is entirely focused (if not oversharpened) to provide different qualities to the head, which the photographer is attracting attention towards. In a way, this also weighs the individuals within the photograph, and the photograph itself, back into reality when considering the commonly unrealistic depictions of skin and people within commercial or other photographs, in addition to some of the connotative meanings that this could mean to the hospital staff.

The societal/cultural issue is the legacy and impact of COVID-19. Considering its significant impact on the world, I want to use my photographs to reflect how the public health crisis was also, to some, a mental health crisis and, to all, a period of difficulty and trouble.

The portrayal of identity that I how to achieve is of one’s suppression of identity, where one’s identity is restricted or limited because of the pandemic. I want to hint at how behind the mask, behind the surface, people are inherently more complex with varying mental states, all of which may just be hidden behind the mask and hidden within one’s internal walls. I want to express people’s deeper internal emotions, how people are much more mixed and different than who they inherently are on the surface.

What is a portrait?

To me, a portrait is a work of art that focuses on expressing identity. Typically, this is most effective when identity is portrayed directly, where the subject is primarily the centerpiece of the artwork and the message is portrayed in a more focused way.

Yayoi Kusama

In my opinion, portraits are not mutually exclusive towards the direct portrayal of individuals within the photograph(s) but could also be an extension of one’s own being or identity. Although it is relatively common for an individual to be portrayed directly in a portrait, in many instances (such as in “Everything I Have” by Simon Evans, where identity is portrayed via the material possessions of Evans), the portrayal of a specific element of someone’s identity, even if that person is not in the photograph, can still be an effective way to express and portray identity.

Simon Evans

Likewise, I also think that a portrait does not have to be exclusive to a single photograph, but could be represented in multiple photographs as a single work. In many instances, the use of multiple images to portray an element of identity should also be considered a portrait (such as Zcyklu archiwum gestów by Zofia Kulik with the various, odd poses)

 Zofia Kulik