A plague doctor dances with a rat at a Covid ball: Lisl Ponger's best photograph

"When Covid started, everybody was talking about masks. I thought about the face coverings we all had to wear, and I thought about masks more widely. I researched masked balls and carnival masks and read a lot about the many outbreaks of plague in Venice starting in the 14th century, and about pandemics in general. This photograph, Danse Macabre, was inspired by Covid."

"If you take a close look at the paper lamps hanging from the ceiling, you'll see some Covid-19 viruses smuggled in among them. In the middle of the scene, a doctor in a plague mask the type still sold at carnival in Venice is dancing with the rat that caused the plague. The couple on the left reference the fact that the Bolsonaro-led Brazilian government at the time of the pandemic was accused of allowing many Indigenous people to die unnecessarily [he denied any wrongdoing]."

"So those two deal with colonialism the woman in the yellow hat represents an Indigenous person, the guy she's dancing with is wearing a mask with the face of Pedro de Alvarado, a Spanish conquistador responsible for massacring Indigenous populations in Guatemala in the 16th century. Different countries measured social distancing in different terms. In Austria, for some unknown reason, we were told to stay the length of a baby elephant apart."

The photograph Danse Macabre was inspired by Covid and incorporates masks and historical plague motifs. Paper lamps contain hidden Covid-19 virus images. A central figure wearing a Venetian plague mask dances with a rat. A couple references Bolsonaro-era Brazilian government allowing Indigenous deaths; the woman wears a yellow hat as Indigenous representation, partner wears a mask showing Pedro de Alvarado. Social distancing measures from various countries are reimagined as dance gestures, including an alligator mask referencing Florida and a baby-elephant measure from Austria. A mask design featuring the virus was created and used with permission. Interest in staged photography draws from paintings and engagements with colonialism and postcolonialism.

Read at www.theguardian.com