UNMASKED by artist Joan Charles

Unmasked has a painting on one side of a repurposed canvas and on the other side in the well of the stretched canvas is a papier-mâché bust.

Mixed media: acrylic paint, cardboard, tissue paper, newspaper, twine, rusted metal, and twigs.
The canvas is 4" x 4".

About the piece: Like most artists, I have a number of unfinished paintings squirrelled away, waiting for me to find the time or inspiration to finish them. As I was prepping for this show, I rediscovered a small painting among my stash. Although the canvas is only 4” x 4”, the sides are thick, creating a deep well that I thought I would use as a shadow box for some found objects.

I planned to leave the original painting in place, but as the piece evolved, I decided to paint over it. My idea was to try to illustrate the two sides we all have – our public faces (masked) and our private faces (unmasked).

Once the new painting was in place, I abandoned the idea of using found objects and decided to make a three-dimensional representation of the painting. Where the painting is smooth and soft, the sculpture has a rough, handmade quality. Using newspaper, cardboard, and old tissue paper, I made the bust from papier-mâché. The hair is a combination of old wrapping twine, newspapers, and tissue paper, covered with glue and painted with acrylic paints. Behind the head is a mosaic background made from the rusting pieces of a garden planter.

The piece rests on a stand made of twigs that I found on my walks.