Benjamin’s Mask

Art Description

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, the mask has become the emblem of the pandemic. The mask is an object of controversy: a symbol of censorship/separation and care/protection. In a special series, David X has taken some of the most iconic figures of all times and put a mask on them. The message is special, put a mask on.

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David X is a mixed media contemporary artist who creates striking paintings fusing Eastern and Western artistic traditions. David X started studying art when he was 7 at after-school art classes with peers nearly 3 times his age. This experience kick-started the mental and physical database of references that he continues to draw on for his paintings today.

David X was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2002 but was given life through a successful bone marrow transplant. In 2017, doctors detected a recurrence which left him with less than one year to live. David X felt compelled to create 365 inspirational paintings during the last year of his life. When tests eventually revealed that leukaemia had not returned, and his life was no longer threatened, he challenged himself to continue the paintings to fulfill his dream and inspire hope. His works are mainly portrait paintings of well-known figures, both historic and contemporary.