Model

September 2017

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Are we condemned to wear masks?

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Nowadays, especially in the culture I was raised in, people tend to hide their real personalities in order to adapt to the society. Boys are told that they must act tough, man up and not cry,  or men who feel the need to act as if they like cars, sports or video games, regardless of whether they really do or not. Women on the other hand, are consistently shown to be weaker than men, they are raised to be homemakers and obey their  husbands.

However, all of these are stereotypes that people adhere to , but deep down, everyone has a different side to them that they never show because they're afraid of criticism.

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I chose the color red, to refer to the psychological and emotional danger we are putting ourselves through by acting as someone else. As the pictures progress, the red becomes more prominent in order to show how dangerous it is. I chose to use a black and white picture in order to draw all of the attention on the red. 

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In all of the pictures, i blended the same picture twice with a different shade to show that no matter what we do, we will always be "haunted" in some way by our alter-ego. We will always be aware that this isn't who we really are. Our conscience allows us to come back to reality. 

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In the first picture, i decided to add a girl's mask, because where I come from, boys who don't act manly enough, strong enough, who act in traditionally feminine ways, or who are effeminate in any way are always made fun of. They are granted no respect, and are severely bullied by society.

It is easier for mankind to wear masks than to be "naked". In my opinion, by wearing maks, the self becomes multiple. But having multiple sides to show, means having nothing because in we are not seen for whom we truly are. It also implies us hiding a part of ourselves, which distorts our relationships with the people around us. We must own up to who we are, and live with it. There is no condemnation to wearing masks, man should know who he really is deep inside and assume his identity.

As for myself, I am also guilty of this act and this is why I chose to make work about it.