Covid Hepburn

COVID Hepburn Pop Art. Remember 2020? It sucked, didn’t it? A time of fear, uncertainty, and isolation. But in the end, humor was one of the best ways to cope. That’s what inspired this satire painting, a re-imagining of the ever-iconic Audrey Hepburn, possibly the most painted person in the art world, now distorted and disrupted by a simple yet powerful addition: a PPE mask.

At the height of the pandemic, I wanted to use pop art and stencil art as a form of creative therapy. The idea was to take well-known cultural icons and add a surreal, darkly humorous twist by integrating the masks that had become an everyday reality. It was a way to process everything through spray paint, sarcasm, and social commentary. This piece was part of a planned larger series where I explored how masks changed not just our faces but the way we saw the world. But once we slowly returned to normality, so did the need to move forward. I realised I didn’t want to be surrounded by the constant reminder of that strange, unsettling time. The series ended, and I moved on. Yet, this painting remains serving as both a relic of those chaotic days and a testament to the power of humor, art, and shared experience in the face of adversity.

Because, really—what else could we do but laugh?