Esther de Groot
We are the only species which consciously, deliberately alters its appearance. This has been true in every respect of human history and will always be so because bodily expression can communicate things which words never can. Found throughout the world and in an extraordinary range of cultures, masks are clearly one of humankind’s most ancient and important inventions.
Our contemporary tendency is to see the function of masks as simply one of concealing one’s true identity. Cross-culturally and historically however, the primary, thoroughly extraordinary function of the mask is that of revealing, rather than concealing; the revealing of a different persona or entity that functions as a mediator between material and more subtle dimensions.
My project is a visual exploration on the ambivalent, performative/transformative role of the mask and its theatrical significance in relation to the daily life performance of the individual.
I vår samtid tenderar vi att se masker enbart som ett sätt att dölja vår sanna identitet. Men historiskt och sett över olika kulturer har maskens främsta och mest extraordinära funktion varit att avslöja istället för att dölja – avslöjandet av en annan person eller väsen som fungerar som medlare mellan den materiella världen och mer svårfångade dimensioner.
Mitt projekt är en visuell utforskning av maskens ambivalenta, performativa/transformativa roll och dess teatrala betydelse för individens vardagliga uppträdande.
