ceremonial masks
Masks are the ultimate expression of my armor and facade series (how we protect, how we present ourselves).
For these Ceremonial masks (they’re sculptures that hang on the wall) built during the pandemic, I turned to fiction. The centuries-old characters of Shakespeare seemed to sum up the characters of our modern world - the good, the villainous, the tragic, the bereaved, the hopeful...
One of the masks - my red and black Lady Macbeth “Upend” (seen above) portrays a fearsome facade with her heavy grey-beaded eyelashes, and a crown built of text. But I’ve drawn a face in angst on her forehead as if speaking to the guilt-ridden character within. I was thinking of her portrayal in Kurusawa’s film “Throne of Blood” when her character obsessively/unceasingly washed her hands to rid them of the blood only she could see.
UPEND (Lady Macbeth); 31” x 20” x 5”; Silk, cotton, tulle, drawing on paper, hematite glass beads, wire;
Quilted, stitched, pieced, appliqued, embroidered, beaded, drawn, constructed; photo credits for all images at the bottom of the page
SPARROW; Silk, cotton, felt, wire, fake leaves, upholstery fabric selvage, ribbon, glass beads, paint;
Quilted, stitched, pieced, appliqued, embroidered, beaded, painted (on lips), constructed
Other masks – like Sparrow and Knave (seen above and below) - became part bird and part human-ish. Conceptually, I began to think of the mask as a flight from normalcy. Shakespearean characters, being fiction, are also removed from our normal life. At this point, their crowns became the crests of birds. I was masking fiction, so to speak.
KNAVE, 28” x 17” x 7”; Cotton, silk, felt, and glass and costume jewelry beads; Quilted, stitched, pieced, appliqued, embroidered, beaded, constructed
THE CONSORT; (above & right); 31” x 19” x 6”; Silk and various fabrics, wire (inside rim of face), paper, paint
Quilted, stitched, pieced, appliqued, embroidered, beaded, collaged, painted, constructed
KING CLAUDIUS; 14” x 9” x 6”; Silk, cotton, various fabric scraps, felt, costume jewelry, glass beads, metal, silk covered and embroidered Styrofoam balls;
Quilted, stitched, pieced, appliqued, embroidered, beaded, constructed
QUEEN GERTRUDE; 15” x 8” x 5”; Silk, linen, cotton, various fabric scraps, felt, costume jewelry, glass beads, silk wrapped wire (the looped part of the crown), stuffed and embroidered cone, fake flower; Quilted, stitched, pieced, appliqued, embroidered, beaded, constructed
HAMLET; Silk, linen, cotton, various fabric scraps, felt, costume jewelry, glass beads, cotton fabric wrapped cords (the looped part of the crown [no wire]); Quilted, stitched, pieced, appliqued, embroidered, beaded, constructed
OPHELIA; 11” x 9” x 8”; Silk, cotton, various fabric scraps, felt, paper, netting, costume jewelry, fake flowers, glass beads; Quilted, stitched, pieced, appliqued, embroidered, beaded, constructed
…all photos of finished artworks on this page by Penina M