DepartmentTextiles-United States & Canada

Face mask

NameMask

Artist Gasali Adeyemo (Nigerian)

Designer I.B. Bayo (Nigerian)

CultureYoruban/American

Date2020

Place madeSanta Fe, New Mexico, United States, North America

Place madeSanta Cruz, California, United States, North America

MediumIndigo dye, cotton damask, synthetic satin

DimensionsNot Including Strap: 10 5/8 × 5 1/8 in. (27 × 13 cm)

Credit LineMuseum of International Folk Art, IFAF collection, FA.2020.48.1

Object numberFA.2020.48.1

ProvenancePurchased from the artist

DescriptionBlue, shaped mask with flower-like lighter designs.

Cloth dyed by Gasali Adeyemo,
mask designed and sewn by I.B. Bayo
Nigerian-American textile artists Gasali Adeyemo (Santa Fe, NM) and I.B. Bayo
(Santa Cruz, CA) both studied at the Niké Center for Art and Culture in Osogbo,
Osun State, Nigeria, before settling in the United States. In response to COVID-19,
they collaborated on a series of masks using indigo-dying techniques that
reflect Yoruba traditions for art, design, and health. Gasali explains that indigo
is medicine; it is ingested, worn, and painted on the walls of homes to prevent
illness, making it an ideal medium for protective masks (from exhibition label text).