False Faces
Printmaking, 2007limited edition
Everyone hates the faker, the two-faced, and the insincere. False people are universally despised. It makes us upset to know we've been lied to. This insecurity runs so deep that, when asked, the majority of the populace, would list these fakers among their top 10 issues with other people. This raises an interesting question though. If everyone hates the counterfeit people, who is actually left to be part of this hated group?
The sad truth is we all are these frauds. Each morning we put on a false face to present the world. We adjust our personalities, our vocabulary, and our expressions with each and every interaction. Many have even deluded themselves to the point that they don't recognize where the masks end and they truly begin.
In this spirit I've chosen a mask to represent identity. The mask sits on the page, worn out; the edges ragged the surface pitted and pot-marked. These false fronts we put on for other people are similarly used to exhaustion. The same faces are recycled the world over, no matter the culture. Hubris mars the page much as conflicting emotions ruin the "perfect fronts" we put up for the benefit of others. While the mask is gray, signifying the shallowness of artificial personalities, the background is a light blue, our rationalizing of our own lies, which juxtaposes the anger we feel at being lied to. The sham tears decorate the eye of the mask. Our emotions are not our own but plays we put on to impress, support, or identify with our friends. The mask itself harkens back to the Venetian masks of yesteryear where one donned such things in jest, to temporarily hide the identity at masquerades. At masked balls they get removed at the end of the night though while we rarely take off our masks to reveal our true identities. We've grown accustomed to the protection they give us.