Simone Saunders, "It Matters," 2020, hand-tufted textile, 32" x 23" (courtesy of the artist)
Simone Saunders, who graduated this year from the Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary, makes colourful tufted textiles that focus on Black history.
So she was thrilled to participate in the Social Distancing Festival, an online platform that has garnered widespread media interest since springing up last month in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
The festival is pairing artists from around the world for at-a-distance collaborative projects that are posted online. Saunders was invited by the festival’s founder, Toronto playwright Nick Green, to work collaboratively with Tekikki Walker, a Black artist who lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
The two created remarkable bodies of work that serve as a visual commentary on the racial bias Black men experience when wearing masks to protect themselves during the coronavirus pandemic.
Simone Saunders poses with her tufting gun. (courtesy of the artist)
“Not everyone is afforded safety, which is their right: to wear a mask, to protect oneself,” says Saunders, whose roots extend to Europe and Jamaica.
“Many people of colour – men in particular – do not feel safe entering public spaces while wearing a mask.”
She mentions marketing consultant Kip Diggs, who told the Washington Post that he wears masks in pink, blue and lime green “so I don’t look menacing.” He is worried not just about the virus, but about potentially being profiled as a criminal or gang member by police.
That comment inspired Saunders and Walker to use those colours in their works.
Walker cites reports of Black people being followed by officers when they are shopping.
"What is meant for protection can also make one feel as though they are prey," says Walker. "This isn’t a new experience for many Black people in America. We are often taught to shrink ourselves, alter our appearances, and monitor our behaviors to fit within the rest of society that benefits from the normalcy of its privilege." ■
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