MONSTERS & ALIENS

In her series Monsters & Aliens, Diane Williams created masks woven from shredded paintings and discarded materials and wore these masks in performances where the masks clearly signed for “other.” She wants viewers to question what they fear from strangers and to begin to examine their own prejudices with respect to race and gender. She also displays the masked and obscured female body-- confronting viewers declaring, “see me for who I am -- not as a cultural stereotype.”

Williams creates weavings out of cultural detritus/unwanted items recycled from friends and family or salvaged from her local shops that are traditionally owned, run and supported by immigrants. The gesture of obtaining these materials provides connections with the histories and narratives of her community. She uses these weavings in a wide range of formats from wall hangings to installations to sculptural masks and monsters. She performs in these masks and includes them in photographic portraits and video.