Mask

Masksonwall-intro2

The human ego, arrogant in the extreme, is in essence too fragile to fully expose itself to the world. We fear crushing judgment or rejection, so we protect ourselves. The macho swagger, the supercilious self-righteousness...like a battle shield, we hold the image up as our social self - a mask.

 

Show yourself

You stand at this looking glass gazing
Through thin slits,
Only to recognize a tired dream, again.
The muffled grin screams:
Where is this being, this I?
Show yourself!
…But… what of the agony of truth…and fate?
I am cowering behind
This blithe reflection…

Death will come for the whole of you
Soon enough,
(And destiny can be persuaded),
But for now
That tortured smile has died, it serves no more.
Starved of sincerity for years,
Atrophied, exhausted… It’s dead! Rip it off
And bury it somewhere
Far, unmarked.  Then…

Offer your raw skin to dread and to desire;
To fear and to love.
Howl when fierce lust mutilates your senses, or
As the cutting frost of grief
Scours out stark flesh.
Turn that carved countenance to the world!
…naked, wide-eyed awake…
I scan my mottled glyphs.
I am…revealed!

 

PURCHASE PRINTS

All images in this series are available as Limited Edition archival prints on fine art photo paper. Each one is signed and numbered on the front, just below the print.

Prints come in 2 different sizes:

  • Medium (edition of 15) - image size: 625mm x 415mm
  • Large (edition of 8) - image size: 1200mm x 800mm

The Image sizes are of the printed area; the actual paper size is about 20-25% larger, and includes a white border.

For availability and price, please contact me here.

Part of this series was shown at my June 2014 exhibition called "Looking Out | Looking In", at Black Eye Gallery in Sydney. This was a prominent gallery of fine art photography located in the suburb of Darlinghurst. It has subsequently moved to an online-only presence.

2014 exhibition at Black Eye, Looking out | Looking in