CONTEXT
In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Amplifier, a non-profit media lab, launched a Global Emergency Campaign asking artists around the world to create symbols that promoted public safety and best practices, mental health, well-being, and that envisioned the better world we know is possible on the other side of this pandemic.
ACTION
I was in Korea in January 2020, at the start of the Corona Virus Pandemic. It was a scary time to be in Asia but it was comforting to see everybody being considerate to others by wearing a mask in public spaces. Since then, I was concerned by the number of people that are still going about their daily lives in public without wearing a mask.
I was compelled to create a piece that would remind and galvanize people to wear a mask outside. The artwork features a simple but powerful and truthful headline, Masks Save Lives, accompanied by a compelling image of a man wearing a mask in a subway environment. The purpose is to visually communicate the importance of doing your part to protect others by protecting yourself.
RESULT
Amplifier received 10,500+ submissions from 46 countries around the world. In the end over 100 pieces were selected—including 30 California based artists—and my poster design was selected and distributed in 10 cities in the United States as well as in 3 cities in Europe as banner drops, wheat-paste murals in the streets, digital projections and video installations. Selected pieces were distributed internationally, both online and in physical locations where they were needed most.
In partnership with w1curates, my work was displayed alongside Shepard Fairey’s artwork on the streets of London to help flatten the curve through a balance of art and message. Additionally, it was exhibited at a pop-up art show in Los Angeles and later inducted into the Library of Congress.
The goal was to create something that would contribute to any environment while adding the necessary context to both the physical and digital world.
The work was featured on NBC.
The poster design was inducted into the Library of Congress.
Creating a movement with art requires making an otherwise invisible, far-away issue relevant by making it personal, visceral, and local.
