We Were Told To Mask
Original painting by Chris Shopland
Acrylic on 70 x 50 cm linen canvas
This piece emerges from the strange and intense period of 2020—a year we all experienced together, the same threat but felt in vastly different ways. For months, I found it hard to paint. Then came bursts of expressive, joyful work, almost in defiance of the heaviness. And also pieces like this one—raw, uncomfortable to look at, and honest.
As someone who is autistic and has ADHD - AuDHD, the physical experience of wearing a mask brought extreme sensory challenges. At the same time, the term “masking” already held deep meaning in neurodivergent communities—it's what many of us do daily to navigate a world not built for us. The irony wasn't lost on me.
This painting captures that visceral tension. There's a clear influence of Francis Bacon here: the urge to rip something off your face, the sweat, the suffocating quiet, the chaos barely held in check. It’s the itch of fabric on skin, the endless supermarket queues, the disbelief at the world’s state—and the political circus that came with it all and today’s state of affairs.
I’ve held onto this work because, while it may be hard to look at, it holds a strange beauty. A reminder of a shared moment in history, of resilience, of sensory chaos and human fragility. Would you hang it in your home? Maybe not. But perhaps you’ll see the irony. The beauty within the struggle. Perhaps it will help filter out those who are not your people as they look upon it? Who knows, but I am putting it out there and listing it here anyway
We Were Told To Mask
Original painting by Chris Shopland
Acrylic on 70 x 50 cm linen canvas
This piece emerges from the strange and intense period of 2020—a year we all experienced together, the same threat but felt in vastly different ways. For months, I found it hard to paint. Then came bursts of expressive, joyful work, almost in defiance of the heaviness. And also pieces like this one—raw, uncomfortable to look at, and honest.
As someone who is autistic and has ADHD - AuDHD, the physical experience of wearing a mask brought extreme sensory challenges. At the same time, the term “masking” already held deep meaning in neurodivergent communities—it's what many of us do daily to navigate a world not built for us. The irony wasn't lost on me.
This painting captures that visceral tension. There's a clear influence of Francis Bacon here: the urge to rip something off your face, the sweat, the suffocating quiet, the chaos barely held in check. It’s the itch of fabric on skin, the endless supermarket queues, the disbelief at the world’s state—and the political circus that came with it all and today’s state of affairs.
I’ve held onto this work because, while it may be hard to look at, it holds a strange beauty. A reminder of a shared moment in history, of resilience, of sensory chaos and human fragility. Would you hang it in your home? Maybe not. But perhaps you’ll see the irony. The beauty within the struggle. Perhaps it will help filter out those who are not your people as they look upon it? Who knows, but I am putting it out there and listing it here anyway
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