Holly Wilson, Red
Holly Wilson
1968-
Delaware/Lenape
Date
2015
Medium Specific
Digital photograph
Classification
Photograph
Dimensions
36 x 24 in. (91.4 x 61 cm)
Accession Number
2018.20.10.01
Credit
Gift of the Artist
Memo / Artist Statement
Red is my daughter; she wanted to be Deadpool, a fast-talking superhero, though at the time she was not much of a talker. In that moment I wondered how she will be seen or heard as she grows in our current world. What mask will she have to wear to be considered equal? As children, we make and wear masks to become anything we want or need to be. We can do anything in them, from being a superhero to a bird in flight. As adults, the layers and meaning of masks deepen and grow. They are a way to represent the different personas that we need or desire to be in life. Masks are an identity that one can live through or hide behind. -- Holly Wilson, 2025
Biography
Holly Wilson (Delaware Nation/Cherokee) is a contemporary multi-media artist. She uses the figure as a vehicle to lure the viewer into her stories. As a storyteller; her work weaves together the threads of various narratives to create a tapestry that tells stories that are sacred and precious, personal and universal, powerful and at times volatile. She brings to life things sometimes kept secret, hidden, and not permitted to be said in this the audience connects with the emotion captured in her work, a moment that resonates with their life, their story, allowing them to transcend differences of gender, race, class, ethnicity or sexual orientation and connect through their shared humanity.
Date of Bio