linda hall

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b.1960

linda hall holds a mfa from the university of north carolina and has taught studio art at florida state university, where she specializes in courses on art and ecology.  her mixed-media two- and three-dimensional works have been shown in many regional and national venues, and over the years she has participated in numerous public art projects as well.  her family is rooted in the south, and she currently makes her home in tallahassee, florida, where she maintains a studio in the historic smoky hollow quarter of town.  in her spare time, she serves as a volunteer boat tour guide at the lovely wakulla springs state park.

artist statement 

"anxiety masks” is a series of sculptures that i started in april 2020 and i am continuing even now. the past two years have been a time of dis-ease. with the deadly and unpredictable nature of the pandemic combined with the contentious elections and the addition of heartbreaking eruptions around race, this series of masks has been a way for me to deal with anxiety. by covering the entire face, the safeguards for the virus are met but also they provide protection from violence and discrimination. the sculptures theoretically disguise differences such as race and gender and make everyone equal. i make these as a blessing and a protest. obsessively keeping my hands busy has helped tame my own anxiety but also making these masks has given me the opportunity to stand in solidarity with the black lives matter movement, with women who are running for office, and with those who are at the forefront of changing the status quo.  

the compulsive process of adornment manifests in beauty, humor, and mystery. these surface textures cover a well of anxiety.  it is my intention that the work simultaneously displays the anxiety of these times and the hope for a better future.  

l.h.