Masked Identity In Color / Colored Identity In Mask
It is perhaps for the first time that the entire world united in ‘fear’ as lockdowns followed the spread of Covid-19 infection. ‘Fear’ is also the basis of politics of ‘discrimination, dividing humanity and creating inequalities’, that has been on the rise lately, aided by, and also reinforcing, the post-truth politics.
Not surprisingly therefore, Covid-19 exposed the existing and continuing inequalities in the world. Besides the incidents of people of color being falsely accused/abused for spreading the virus, statistics reveal how the systemic inequalities have put the racially discriminated people at a far greater risk, even in the first world. Societies that are relatively more equal and people friendly are coping much better.
Covid-19 thus becomes a pointer to a skewed system that we accept as a ‘normal’, where, for example, ‘economic indices’ are more important than humanity itself.
Kunstwerk(e)
The depths of systemic racial discrimination ensured, without anyone having to move a finger, that the suffering spreads more in the populations that have always been traditionally discriminated against.
The RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color spectrum which gives color to the virtual world on our digital devices, is used here as a reference to all the people in the world, who have been confined into a primary identity that spells ‘color’.
A mask is usually associated with anonymity. Yet, it remains unable to hide the existing prejudices and equalize the people in an assumed anonymity. Here it represents the ironic futility of attempting equality (through anonymity), in a world where skin color continues to define identities.
This Performance Video is a testimony to the false fears that continue fuel identity politics.
Preview Link: https://youtu.be/WNcyNgc8Dxk
Negative space as a self portrait of a colored body.
Color imprint of face as a self portrait of a colored body.
