Masking Series

Project overview

The Masking Series is a digital display of Wimbley’s art at the Arden Fair Mall and a photography installation on a billboard in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood.

The work is composed of video and still photography of the artist putting on and wearing a mask. The mask features overlays of video and collaged images sourced from archives of news footage, the internet, and originals generated by the artist.

The overlay in the Masking series references the masked performances of the African tradition of Masquerade.

The Masquerade can refer to a performance by masked characters, the performer himself, or the character portrayed by the performer. The African style of masquerade is an outdoor event. Within Yoruba Gelede masquerade, originated in Benin and Nigeria, masks, costume, music, song and dance are used to evoke and comment upon social and spiritual matters, helping to shape society and those within it in constructive ways. 

About the Artist

Jessica Wimbley received her BFA in Painting from Rhode Island School of Design, an MFA in Visual Arts from the University of California, Davis, and her MA in Arts Management from Claremont Graduate University. Wimbley has been included in exhibitions at a number of institutions including the Gallery Momo, SA, Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art, California State University at Long Beach, College of the Canyons Art Gallery, Ripon College and other galleries and institutions across the United States. Forthcoming exhibitions include a solo exhibition at Loyola Marymount University in 2021. Part of a curatorial team with artist/curator, Chris Christion, Wimbley has developed the curatorial project series Biomythography, with exhibitions in academic and non-profit art spaces in Southern California including Cerritos College, California Lutheran University, Eastside International, Los Angeles, University of La Verne, and Claremont Graduate University.

Follow the artist

jessicawimbley.com

@jessica.wimbley