Behind the mask

As we eagerly return to in-person campus life, we all wear a part of the newest and most unexpected chapter of our stories front and center, in the form of masks.

Though we don’t have a choice in whether to wear the protective face-coverings while indoors on campus, we do control which ones we wear.

My fascination with the stories — and the people — behind our masks led me on a months-long journey across campus photographing the various masks people wear. After making each portrait, I asked people the story behind their mask. Their answers ranged from pragmatic to sentimental, and through their willingness to share I am grateful and reminded that strangers are often only one encounter away from friendship.

It is in this spirit that I encourage you, the next time a mask catches your eye, to ask for its — and by extension, its owner’s — story.

Brian Huynh is a senior who works as a student photographer with University Communications.

Photography and text by Brian Huynh