Blog post 3
For my project in ‘Mask Making and Politics’, we were challenged to create an original mask centred around a social and political theme. Having never made a mask before and having not been previously involved on a creative course, I was slightly concerned about partaking in this project. However, it proved to be an amazing opportunity to explore the themes presented in Better Lives in a more creative way, which I would not otherwise have had the opportunity to do.
For the theme of my political mask, I chose to focus on the ideas that Kate Fletcher explored in her lecture about nature in fashion, specifically focusing on biodiversity loss (1). At first, I found it difficult to come up with ideas for my mask and how it would relate to my chosen political theme. I felt it was an important cause to discuss within the project. Fletcher’s lecture was definitely the one that most resonated with me and I realised that biodiversity loss is something that maybe we, as fashion students living in a large city, may not notice the rate at which this is happening and the way in which it is affecting our planet. Of course, there are many other aspects of climate change that require an equal amount of attention, but I found this to be the most interesting and applicable to my project.
Researching and sculpting our masks allowed me to explore this theme in a very in-depth way, as we were told to not only research our chosen political theme but also the history of masks themselves. I discovered that historically masks have been used to specifically explore political powers and themes, for example in Ancient Greece through the means of theatre. I found it very useful discussing political themes through a more creative outlet.
The influences for my final piece included Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice and Jean- Michel Basquiat’s paintings of dogs. I wanted my mask to reflect a sense of discomfort and distortion, which can definitely be seen in my influences. The almost nightmarish aspect of both of these influences greatly inspired me, as I felt that it largely reflected what I wanted to portray in my project. I chose to depict a dog-like animal in my project, in order to highlight my chosen political theme of biodiversity loss.
In class, we discussed the impact and effect of anonymity in masks and how this is often used in riots and protest. One student in class looked into the animal rights riots for Lush, in which many protesters used full face animal masks. The impact of so many people wearing masks and the anonymity of the protesters was very impressive. Due to this, I decided to create a full-face mask as I believe that it fitted quite well with my chosen theme. Throughout the Better Lives module, I have found that I have focused greatly on activism, particularly climate and animal rights activism, and mask making has allowed me to explore in this is a creative way which I would otherwise not have been able to do.
References:
- Fletcher, K. (2020) ‘Nature’ [Lecture]. Better Lives, London College of Fashion, 12 February.