UK street art and the meaning of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020-21

McEwan, C; Szablewska, L; Lewis, K.V.

Abstract

TThis paper contributes to social and cultural geographies of the COVID-19 pandemic through an exploration of the role of UK street art in documenting the remarkable shifts in the practice of wearing facemasks, the tensions and emotions involved, and the transformations in the meaning of facemasks during the pandemic. Street art has become an important outlet for political critique and social engagement, capturing the public mood in response to policies and recommendations attempting to stem viral transmission, including the requirement to wear facemasks in some public places. Drawing primarily on image analysis of street artworks produced during 2020 and sourced using online search tools, and qualitative interviews with UK street artists in 2020 and 2021, the paper first explores the changing geographies and politics of street art during the pandemic. It then examines the ways in which street art portrays mask-wearing simultaneously as reassuring, protective and fear-inducing, and reflects the meaning of masks in relation to protecting public health, managing anxieties concerning health risks, boosting morale, and symbolising solidarity and public spiritedness. The paper argues that pandemic street art contributes to public dialogue by articulating emotion and deeply held concerns, and communicating the intimate politics, semiotic meanings and social properties of objects associated with disease.

Citation

McEwan, C., Szablewska, L., & Lewis, K. (2022). UK street art and the meaning of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020-21. Social and Cultural Geography, 24(3-4), 503-523. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2022.2065695

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 26, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Apr 18, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022
• Deposit Date: Apr 13, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 16, 2022
• Journal: Social and Cultural Geography
• Print ISSN: 1464-9365
• Electronic ISSN: 1470-1197
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 3-4
• Pages: 503-523
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2022.2065695
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1208085