Yesterday, after photographing the bicycle traffic light, I continued along University Avenue in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood before stopping to wonder at the mural that is the Featured Image and companion. The first hugs cross-street Sixth and the second is along the main throughway.
Is this who we are after two years of masking during the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 crisis? Faceless? So stripped of humanity to be utterly featureless, without even eyes? Whatever the artist’s intent, I see an overt—not even hidden—message: You are nobody. In a society where even gender is disputed, maybe no identity is the only rendition to depict.
I used Leica Q2 to capture both photos, which are composed as shot. Vitals, aperture manually set for both: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/160 sec, 28mm; 12:24 p.m. PDT. The other: f/2.8, ISO 100, 1/640 sec, 12:25 p.m.