[Andrew Chang] Few symbols say as much as simply and straightforwardly as a mask.
It hides.
It empowers.
It protects.
Effectively make it mandatory for people to wear masks or face coverings
inside businesses or public facilities.
[Andrew] It is both a source of comfort and a lightning rod for conflict.
Well by the way they'll say this whole mask thing is settled science just like they do with climate change.
There have been several mask-related confrontations out here.
[Andrew] Which is why in the halls of Canada's largest museum
urgent work is underway to capture a moment in time.
[Andrew] Hi, Alexandra.
Oh, Andrew nice to meet you.
[Andrew] Nice to meet you too.
This is it.
That's it, yes.
[Andrew] The product of months of work in a pandemic.
Yes, this is what we do in the museum.
[Andrew] This is Alexandra Palmer a curator at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Like everyone else she and her team have been isolating but called into action in a very special way.
[Alexandra] 18th century you said.
[Andrew] She's been collecting artifacts of COVID and each of these masks tells a story.
This pattern instantly recognizable.
Yes and then the Canadian Nova Scotia tartans.
A wonderful woman from Halifax.
[Andrew] Right from the home of Sherrie Kearney who went from making tartan clothing
to making masks.
She raised more than ten thousand dollars for local food banks.
And then there were the Nova Scotia shootings.
So she contributed to those families.
These ones by a Toronto company called Peace Collective
that's very socially minded.
[Andrew] Well they've got a clear message.
Stay home.
[Alexandra] Stay home Toronto.
So this was sort of Prime Minister Trudeau every day.
Enough is enough.
Go home and stay home.
[Andrew] Palmer and her team have collected masks that are whimsical.
Some a little bit wild.
Even wired.
OK, so what does this mean that I'm a part of history?
[Alexandra] Indeed you are, Andrew, you are now.
Yes, you're on a mask.
[Andrew] And the pandemic being not just a Canadian threat but one spanning the world.
I was looking at masks from Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Central Asia, Jordan.
[Andrew] This is Fahmida Suleman, another curator.
Her specialty, the Islamic world.
And what does that say just right across the board.
So there we go in Arabic.
It says "this too shall pass."
[Andrew] A message of optimism.
[Fahmida] Indeed.
[Alexandra] You know the same sentiments echo around the world
of you may be in your little tiny bubble but we're kind of all in the same boat.
[Andrew] All in the same boat except when we weren't.
Remember a time before masks were a must?
Some were ahead of the curve
but whether masks were actually necessary to protect the public at large
a matter of fierce debate.
What we worry about is actually the potential negative aspects of wearing masks.
Masks would become both objects of altruism and at times symbols of weakness.
A forfeiting of freedom.
But you're making me wear a mask otherwise you're going to deny me service if I don't wear a mask.
But you're not going to tell us to do what we don't want to do.
And then we had Black Lives Matter which was another real galvanizing moment.
This idea of text on the mask.
The sort of the new t-shirt of wearing who you are on your sleeve
and making it very visible.
[Andrew] That so many world events and issues converged and coalesced
on such a simple piece of fabric.
No wonder Palmer's keen eye sees much more than just masks.
They're more like chapters in a book.
Oh, that looks quite good.
And this is the one with the straw is it?
It's a reusable straw.
Oh my goodness.
With a cleaner.
Oh that's fantastic.
Patio's opened in Toronto.
Yeah so this sort of marks that moment of maybe a bit of happiness coming.
[Andrew] Well and did you find that you saw that evolution in the masks that you collected.
[Alexandra] Absolutely and the availability of masks change too really radically.
So sometimes we'd um find something on the internet
and then it was it's all sold out.
[Andrew] Hence the importance of chronicling COVID as it unfolds.
So that future generations understand what it meant to live through this pandemic.
It's a story of redemption in some way and people are good.
And people want to do something that's effective.
And you know we need to start thinking on a more communal scale
to get through COVID.
And to get through the serious issues that face us ahead I think.