The Masks We Wear
Video & Research SeriesThe Masks We Wear is a short experimental video, which considers how masks can be symbolic of the changeable and performative nature of human identities.
This final outcome is supported by a series of smaller works, visualising the contextual, practical, and experimental research that was essential in the development of this project.
Film photographs taken while filming for the final video.
A series of outcomes visualising the research undertaken in the initial stages of this project.
Japanese Noah masks
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We Wear the Mask - Poetry
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Avant garde masks of social media
We Wear the Mask - Poetry
Avant garde masks of social media
Pierrot character from commedia dell'arte.
Anti-viral masks
VR headsets
A stop motion video exploring materiality and form.
Collated results of a questionnaire. Participants were asked to match 3-4 words they associate with each image in the questionnaire, from a list provided.
An A3 poster showing the top 3 words associated with each image.
Individual cards showing which images were most associated with each word.
Participants were also asked to choose words from the same list to describe their own identity. These responses were turned into a small booklet.
The information gathered was then used to create a series of paper masks which visualise the different participants identities, based on the views of the group.
The masks were then used as props in a final video, which showcases the main finding of this research: that individual identities are not concrete – they are fluid through their constant reinterpretation by society.
The same subject can be identified in a multitude of different ways, even throughout a single day. These interpretations do not only depend on the performance made by an indivudual - they also depend on the social background, cultural backdrop, and personal bias of the viewer; as well as the level of intimacy and nature of the relationship between the two.
In this sense, social identities are constantly shifting, and are as ephemeral as the paper masks created in this project.