Masks and emotional distance: a visual study of human relationships in the Covid-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

This study addresses the social impact of the pandemic in terms of its effects on communication and emotion in spaces of everyday domestic activity. The aim is to visually and formally portray the personal, professional and citizen reality in the daily use of face masks. The analysis includes the adoption, advocacy or resistance to them, through various representative characters of different, referential social sectors. The effect of masks on communication and emotional relationships is explored through photo portraits and qualitative interviews developed in a small community in Southern Spain. This work seeks to better understand the communicative, personal and social consequences of such preventive measures.