The project 100 layers of skin, the mask as a revelatory of the self is a multimedia installation. Inspired by the 100 layers challenge trend that boomed on youtube in the last decade, this project questions the link between our evolving physical appearance and the transformation of our character and personality.
The accumulation of physical masks is opposed to the different facets one can possess on a psychological level . Are we, in a way, adding layers on our skins everyday until we get to an anamorphosis of the self? Does addition always mean deformation, or do these facets morph together until they actually turn into a more accurate image of ourselves? How can the image of my face translate an absolute truth about Me? Those interrogations led to the analysis of one particular type of mask, the death mask, and its aesthetic and symbolic representation of the being. Intended to represent the deceased in an absolute way, the masks were created post mortem, eyes closed. How can these masks express the multiple facets of one? If a death mask is to remember one by, isn’t it cruel to only have the one image of the dead on their death bed? Don’t we need a bigger spectrum of that person, see them at different ages, different angles, positions?
Aren’t we plural , in constant evolution? If so, then these singular images are trying to depict the essence of the being, without any complications. A simple flat surface, without any expression or intention. A blank page that contains all that was.
Unlike theatrical masks, or decorative ones, theses masks aren’t meant to disguise the self but to reveal it. With this unique face, we are presented with the absolute representation of the being.