These photographs were taken on the Las Vegas Strip during the gradual reopening of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three subjects wander Las Vegas Boulevard in star masks. Each is also masked beneath their stars per CDC guidelines, layering their “stardom” onto necessary precautions while existing in public spaces. Sometimes the subjects attract attention, other times they don’t.

None of the subjects live on The Strip, and instead live in Paradise, Nevada. Each came to The Strip like a tourist in search of human connection through reaction and absurdity. The opulence accessible to them is juxtaposed against kitschy, childish star masks, highlighting the inherent tension of seeking public life in the face of a pandemic.

The subjects encounter other costumed people, massive flower sculptures constructed of smaller flowers, and confused onlookers. The masks alter the experience of people around them.

Some passersby ask, “What the hell are you?” Others say, “I gotta know why you’re doing that.”

Like the Strip itself, the subjects are lightning rods for adoration or upturned noses. The subjects never do discover if they are stars yet. Instead, at the end of the night they return to Paradise, take off their masks, and go to sleep like so many other people in the hotels, arenas, restaurants, casinos, and streets of Las Vegas.

Jo O’Lone-Hahn is a poet and visual artist based in Las Vegas. Her work can be found or is forthcoming in Black Warrior Review, Tampa Review, SPECTRA Poets, Posit, Great River Review, and BAG Magazine. She is the poetry editor of Witness Magazine and a current MFA candidate in poetry at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.