Andy Diaz Hope: Masking

August 3 - October 26, 2008

Andy Diaz Hope, Clown, from Everybody is Somebody’s Terrorist series, mélange wool; Carnival Clown with Balloons, from Everybody is Somebody’s Terrorist series, Archival c-print; LA Tourist Tube, from Everybody is Somebody’s Terrorist series, Archival c-print; Modern Hippy Infiltration, from Everybody is Somebody’s Terrorist series, Archival c-print.

We live in a world where appearances matter—where choices regarding what someone wears and how they wear it seem to reveal some, but by no means all, information relating to a person’s character. Andy Diaz Hope (CA), with his provocative series of photographs, videos, and knit ski masks collectively titled Everybody is Somebody’s Terrorist, reminds us that how those signs are interpreted—what they seem to “say” about someone’s political, religious, or social beliefs—also reflects the opinions and views of the interpreter. As he suggests: “Depending on your point of view, almost everyone can be considered somebody’s terrorist. Environmentalists may consider big business as globally, economically, or environmentally terrorist. The businessman might consider Greenpeace operations as terrorist acts.”

Diaz Hope hand knits balaclavas (ski masks) that represent a variety of social, economic, or political groups that someone may deem “terrorist” or frightening, including clowns, tourists, teenagers, and businessmen. He then makes the masks (and those that wear them) the subject of photo essays and videos that explore our feelings about what the masks mean, about the groups that they symbolize, and about the way the masks raise issues regarding “our comfort level with the label of terrorist.” Spurred by the cultural concerns of the day but addressing age-old topics of identity and stereotyping, Andy Diaz Hope creatively weaves his way into the fabric of various social scenarios and reminds us that sometimes it is not about right vs. wrong but a matter of perspective.