Masks have been used in cultures across the globe during celebrations or initiation ceremonies. The persona, according to Carl Jung, was the social face the individual presented to the world—”a kind of mask, designed on the one hand to make a definite impression upon others, and on the other to conceal the true nature of the individual. About Picasso, he said, that the artist resorted to African masks as a means to exorcising his inner demons. Among the African tribes, masks were often times what a blue pinstriped suite is to modern man.
At the Brooklyn Musuem, the “Disguise: Masks and Global African Art” the function of masks is described as: “expose hidden issues, and to challenge the status quo”.
Note: African masks @ Brooklyn Museum
My Input Output which debuted at the Torpedo Art Factory and the Lalit Kala Academy in 2011 was a means of initiating transformation through projection.
