The Masked Face in the Theatre of Pandemic and Protest
The Masked Face in the Theatre of Pandemic and Protest
Speaker
Prof. Dr. Margaret Hillenbrand (University of Oxford)
Date and Time
May 6, 2026, 4.15 pm - 5.45 pm
Venue
Rämistrasse 74/76, 8001 Zurich, Room RAI-F-041
Abstract
This talk explores cultures of masking in pandemic-era China, arguing that it is easy to underthink the role of the mask at a time of epidemiological peril: masks save lives, end of story. I suggest to the contrary that masks were never only about public health during Covid-19, but instead communicated far more complex biopolitical propaganda, especially at a time when memories of mass masked protest during the Hong Kong demonstrations of 2019-2020 were vivid. From the death of Wuhan whistleblower Li Wenliang to the White Paper Movement of November 2022, masks played an extraordinary role in Chinese politico-visual culture at a time when pandemic and protest intersected in tense ways. Exploring three sets of little-studied primary sources – official propaganda posters about the virus; cartoons about fighting against the pandemic published in the People’s Daily; and artwork produced by children and young people in DIY mask-making get-togethers – I discuss how masks functioned as vibrant objects during a brief but monumental period in the history of biopower in China.
Organization: Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies - Chinese Studies