Undercover – From Necessity to Debris: The Pollution of Face Coverings During COVID-19
Groves, Andrew 2021. Undercover – From Necessity to Debris: The Pollution of Face Coverings During COVID-19. London Gallery West 08 - 28 Jun 2021
| Creators | Groves, Andrew |
|---|---|
| Description | In 2020, it was estimated that 129 billion face masks were used globally each month, with the vast majority of them containing disposable plastic microfibres. Undercover: from Necessity to Debris, The Pollution of Face Coverings During COVID-19, documents these discarded face coverings found and photographed in the streets during the last year. Strewn across rain-sodden pavements and gutters, at first glance, these masks may seem unremarkable, indistinguishable, unworthy of attention. While it is true that a face mask, even if only worn across the mouth, serves to conceal the wearer’s identity, a closer look at these objects reveals clues to the lives of their previous owners. As such, these photographs serve as a form of absentee portraiture. The complete series of 365 images were first shown in May 2020, as non-fungible tokens (NFT’s) on OpenSea, where 52 were given away for free. Reimagined in this grandiose physical scale, the images function as abstract meditations on the minutiae of the urban environment, serving as both an archive of highly disposable material culture and a reflection on the environmental impact of our response to COVID-19. |
| Keywords | Face coverings |
| Pollution | |
| COVID-19 | |
| Archives | |
| Photography | |
| Year | 09 Jun 2021 |
| Files | Image credit Discarded mask #204. Photograph by Andrew Groves. Measurements 120 x 72cm Rights All rights reserved Media type Image License All rights reserved |
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Permalink - https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/v601z/undercover-from-necessity-to-debris-the-pollution-of-face-coverings-during-covid-19
Explore this exhibition
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Groves Andrew and Sprecher, D. 2021. Undercover – From Necessity to Luxury: The Evolution of Face Coverings During COVID-19. Online 11 May - 05 Jun 2021
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Groves Andrew 2021. Undercover – From Necessity to Debris: The Pollution of Face Coverings During COVID-19. https://opensea.io/collection/undercover-from-necessity-to-debris 11 May - 05 Jun 2021
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Groves, Andrew and Sprecher, Danielle 2021. Undercover: The Migration of Face Coverings During COVID-19. The Many Faces of Migration: An Interdisciplinary Unconference. online 29 - 30 Apr 2021
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