In Honor of Mental Health Awareness Month

Today I’m sharing a new piece that feels especially personal to me.

Masquerade was created in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and is deeply informed by both my work as a mental health professional and my lived experience as a Black woman navigating the complexities of identity, visibility, and belonging.

The piece depicts a woman whose face is adorned with layered colors, shapes, and markings — symbolic of the many “masks” women, particularly Black women and other women of color, often feel compelled to wear while moving through American society. Masks of strength. Masks of composure. Masks of survival.

But this work is not solely about concealment.

The mask in Masquerade also draws inspiration from African and Caribbean cultural traditions where adornment, color, ceremony, and symbolism become expressions of lineage, beauty, power, and ancestral memory. In that sense, the figure is not disappearing behind the mask — she is revealing something sacred through it.

This piece is ultimately about duality:
the tension between performance and authenticity,
protection and expression,
survival and self-celebration.

As with much of my work, Masquerade seeks to honor the beauty, resilience, and emotional depth of women whose humanity is too often overlooked, minimized, or misunderstood.

Museum-quality prints are now available. 

Thank you, as always, for continuing to support work that allows me to create with honesty and intention.

With gratitude,
Kristen