Liz Sexton is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, who crafts realistic animal masks using the papier-mâché technique. Her works primarily work as sculptures that celebrate the world of nature but can also be worn by humans.
Sexton usually picks out endangered species as her subjects, wanting her masks to raise awareness about the challenges that they face in the modern world. She hopes to spark empathy among humans that wear or see her masks and inspire positive changes.
“I also enjoy working on animals that likely live very close to us, but we don’t necessarily see,” the artist shared in an interview with Colossal. “Bringing them out into our human habitats, on a human scale, they become neighbors, commuters, a visible part of our community.”
Sexton has been working with papier-mâché for a long time but only started making masks recently. She crafted one as part of a Halloween costume and liked the experience so much that she made them a standard part of her practice.
Sexton shares that a single mask can take weeks or even months to be completed. However, all the hard work pays off because her pieces are nothing short of impressive. Check out more of them below.
