In Hot Peace: From World War II to III (2016)

This set of masks and headgear is derived from World War II imagery, recreated with forms and materials from the environment in Leipzig. The project began from a confrontation of clashing narratives of this historical event, opening up questions about the possibility of experiencing the truth of the distant past, while living in the present.

My search started in the Leipzig city library, finding myself drawn to images of gas masks, pilot masks, and prisoner hats. Over time, these begun to merge with the city, in particular, building construction such as debris netting and window grills. While the images remained symbols of horror and aesthetic objectives, and not artefacts of personal experience, I had the potential to inhabit them by recreating them for one travelling through the environment, and politics of today.

Made using handicraft methods with commonplace materials, these works are from the past, yet for the present, a situation of increasing instability, fear, and distrust. Installed as signposts, they become protective figures or serve as talismans, taking on new and imaginary protective, tribal, and spiritual functions for an unknown future.

Exhibited at:

Lisa Kottkamp & Magdalen Chua — Neue Arbeiten

Tapetenwerk Herbstrundgang, Leipzig

17 - 19 September 2016

Dry riser, fight the fire (2016); mask made from plastic bottles, bottle caps, tea light cups, and maché from found bedsheets; and cord, on papier-mâché stand; 131 x 36 x 36 cm
A Grilling (2016); leather mask, thread from found bedsheet, cardigan buckles, and washing line, on papier-mâché stand; 161 x 15 x 14 cm
The Entanglement of Man Bun and Veil (2016); handknotted hat with nylon threads on papier-mâché stand, and veil of fruit and vegetable nets on papier-mâché stand; 157 x 18 x 15 cm each