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JSWaters | all galleries >> Galleries >> the_human_condition > Masks Hide Who We Are
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02-AUG-2006

Masks Hide Who We Are

Canon EOS 5D
1/50s f/2.8 at 70.0mm (35mm equivalent: 383mm) iso800 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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AL25-Sep-2006 06:00
A brilliant conceptualisation and execution. It's again interesting to read about Phil's and your interpretation. To me. a mask could only hide your face, your expression, but it'd never hide your body language, your action...
Sam Bliss21-Sep-2006 03:08
And masks color how we see.
Kal Khogali20-Sep-2006 15:02
How your eye comes through is wonderful, it creeps up on the viewer, almost as you say...as we get to know you. A fantastic image Jenene. K
Phil Douglis08-Sep-2006 18:47
Yes, I see more detail in the mask now that you've revised it, and a touch more color as well. The face is still ghostly, and very well abstracted, but the presence of the mask on the face is unmistakable.
Phil Douglis08-Sep-2006 01:54
I salute you, Jenene, for your idea. How perception differs from reality always makes for a fascinating train of thought. I still like the butterfly analogy -- particularly if you are able to work on this image and release the color that is lurking in that mask.
JSWaters08-Sep-2006 00:36
Thanks Phil, for such an enthusiastic response. Although my intent differs from your response, I appreciate the new direction and view with which I can now see this image. By abstracting myself, and including the masks, the focus was more about how perceptions differ from reality. You see me, but you don't really see me. Only when you're willing to invest yourself in someone else with unselfish interest, will the mask start to come off. The symbol of freedom analogy intrigues me, being of the mind that no price is too high to pay for certain freedoms. Glad you liked it.
Phil Douglis07-Sep-2006 23:07
This is among the most substantive images you have produced to date, Jenene. The degree of abstraction puts you -- and the viewer as well -- into a dream like state. The mask itself is shaped like a butterfly, the symbol of freedom. Yet your face is emblazoned with it as well, almost as if you have disfigured yourself with a huge tattoo over one eye. The tight frame abstracts you further, as if you are peeking out at us, yet cannot get yourself free of this butterfly spattered on your face. The more I let my imagination get into it, the more change in your normal appearance I see. It is an image rich in irony -- you appear to be imprisoned by a symbol of freedom. Can it be that you are telling us that the cost of freedom is one that is too high to pay? I love this image, Jenene, and how it works the mind.