Pandemic: Weight-Bearer (BUT MY RIGHTS!)
In July of 2020, I had reached a point where I needed to do something with the masks my husband brought home every day as an essential worker. I began embroidering the COVID-19 statistics that the Michigan government reported everyday on their website. Each mask is embroidered with:
The date(s) the data referenced
The number of confirmed cases reported
The number of confirmed deaths
The total cases up to that date.
The masks included in this installation represent the span of time from July 2020 to Nov. 2, 2021.
The adult figure, Pandemic: Weight-Bearer (BUT MY RIGHTS!) developed as I continued to embroider masks; just embroidering them, though an act of meditation and contemplation for me, was not enough. I began thinking about the COVID conspiracy theories and the outrage of a very vocal minority against COVID mandates and how they contributed not only to the numbers being reported but also to the individuals filling the hospitals to overflowing. The Healthcare workers bear the weight of these statistics and they are not just numbers to them. They carry the weight of their experiences patients, those that survived, and those who did not and yet they continue with little rest for themselves.
I continue to embroider the masks everyday the numbers are reported (currently 3x per week in Michigan). As I perform this ritual, I am reminded that behind these numbers are individuals. I also think about how these are specifically “confirmed” cases, which means they do not include unconfirmed cases, which makes the numbers much higher. And as many in our communities go back to “normal” activities, like the pandemic is over, I will continue to embroider each mask...
