Meeting Notes

 Meeting Notes

Meetings make up a large component of public health work. This is where a lot of my ideas were born. During meetings, I often find myself listening and sketching. After a few years, I had amassed over 300 unique drawings. The sketches, though drawn subconsciously, resembled masks. These sketches were akin to the ceramic works of Sammie Nicely and the comic book illustrations of Bill Sienkiwicz, two very different artists who have influenced my work.  I decided to give the masks a closer examination, and in the process began creating large scale versions of the sketches. I call the series, “Meeting Notes.” 

Through these “Meeting Notes,” a revelation emerged. Masks can be used to help people communicate.  Masks are tools for exploring self-identity. While they have been used traditionally to conceal an identity, they can also be used to make visible and amplify unseen parts of an individual. The mask becomes a map of our identity, with each region of the mask and its design representing a unique part of who we are, or who we wish to be. In their design and make-up, the masks are rooted in and inspired by the tradition of our ancestors. It is a retrospective that helps us explore our beginnings to better understand where and who we are now. Effective tools are critical for understanding ourselves; they help illuminate our strengths and weaknesses, allowing for self-advocacy when it comes to prevention. In this way the masks help us free ourselves as we navigate the issues that we share as people. Mask making is a self assessment.

Interested in having your own piece from the meeting notes series? Contact the artist for more information. Check out the full catalog on instagram @meeting_knowtes