Masked Identity

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Process

          This was a lot easier to do than I thought it would be. I wanted the mask to fit my head, so I had to do a lot of measuring, which was probably the bulk of the work to create the mask. The first thing I did was measure from the tip of my nose to the crown of my head. Then I cut a wire to that length and curved and taped it to create a loop. This was my starting point to expand upon. After that, I did one across the top of my head and in front of my face. Then I started adding wires down the sides of my face, creating a ribbed structure, making sure I measured each piece on my face before cutting. Because I made sure to measure everything, it came out fitting perfectly. Maybe a little too perfectly. If I were to do it again, I might be a little more lenient on the accuracy of the measurements, maybe giving a quarter of an inch here and there, so that I could put my hair up into the mask, or so other people could wear it. 

          After the metal skeleton was done, I added the tracing paper dipped in gel medium. I originally tried to measure out pieces, but soon found that was too time consuming, messy, and still didn't look nice. So I opted to eyeball most of it, come what may. I still wanted the surface to be as flat as possible, so I tucked and tightened everything I could until the whole mask was covered. 


          After one layer dried, I still wasn't entirely happy with the condition of the tracing paper, so I did another layer of tracing paper and gel medium. This time I made sure it was super flat, which was a lot easier to do this time around, and let that dry. Not only did it give the face a smoother surface, it also made it thicker and more durable.

          Once I was happy with the mask, I bought some reflective spray paint and went to town. And then I realized reflective spray paint only really works on glass, so I got a mirror from a friend, smashed it up, and hot glued the shards to the mask.

Title: Reflection
Materials: Wire, tracing paper, gel medium, spray paint, mirror shards, hot glue
Dimensions: 9" x 7.5" x 6"

Result









Statement

          The project was to create either a false identity with a mask, or to expose an identity. I wanted to do a bit of both, I suppose. I've found I often become a mirror of people around me. The events leading up the where I am now, the people I've met, the things I've heard and seen are all what comprise the person I am today. Sometimes I wonder if there's anything original or organic to "me" at all. So I wanted to illustrate that with a mask. The mirror shards, a nod to mirrors in classical paintings, are a literal representation of the idea of reflecting. The take what is around the person and reflect it back out, leaving the individual to have no distinct face, and causes its features to change depending on who or what it's around. The images in specific settings reflect ways I've found myself reflecting others throughout my life, and in recent memory. Coffee, makeup, and television are just a few of the things I've gotten into not because I've naturally gravitated toward them, but because I've consciously or unconsciously thought that people would like me more if I resemble them.

Artist Inspiration


Hector Sos

Nicholas Alan Cope and Dustin Edward Arnold

Sally-Anne Kelly

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