Masks & Beyond — Found Thread

In light of Covid-19, masks are on our mind now more than ever, not to mention also covering our faces. The pandemic has brought the world into a place not seen before. We have all been transformed into mask wearers.

Sewing machines around the globe have been dusted, and are rattling away in a new wave of home crafting. Being stuck at home has given many people time to sew and up-cycle fabric. From designers to amateurs, people are now making, donating and designing masks from found materials.

With this in mind, I’m going to glance at the history of masks, and look at three female artists who have playfully led them into the 21st century.

For many people, including myself, masks signify decoration, extravagance and fun. My relationship with them has been from dressing up boxes, festivals and parties.

Throughout history, face coverings have come in many shapes and forms. A mask can disguise, expose, transform, give you confidence, give you a voice, take away your voice. Textiles play a huge part. The first recorded masks were from 9,000 years ago in the Middle East. These ritualistic masks are in stone, but imagine face coverings before then made from perishable materials such as leather or mud.

From ancient theatre to modern film masks can exaggerate expressions, such as in the films ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (1999) or ’The Joker’ (2019). At the annual Venetian Carnival, streets are full of traditional costumes with masks for sale in every shop window.

Another function is to protect - such as builders and doctors. The Plague doctor traditionally wore a long bird-like mask, with scented herbs to be placed in the beak .

Decorating and changing our appearances is nothing new.

Some think this art form has been lost. In reality there are exciting artists who have brought this culture into the postmodern age.

Lavish headpieces can be found on the instagram pages Fashion for Bank Robbers, or False Face (also great inspiration for costume parties). Seen here are young designers who have adapted masks in surreal ways.

Three stimulating makers caught my eye: Thread Stories from Ireland; Polina Osipova from Russia; and French food artist Enora Lalet.

I have been following Thread Stories for a few years, seeing this Irish designer grow and grow in popularity. Having a strong instagram presence, Thread Stories has featured in the likes of iD, Colossal magazine and The NY Times. Her masks are surreal, sea creature forms that flow and fall around the head. They are made from yarn with techniques such as crochet, knitting and fringing. Each mask starts as a crocheted balaclava, which is layered with thread to make wild 3D forms.

Thread Stories (image: This is colossal)

The designer photographs and films herself in a performative way, throwing the masks from side to side. Most of the face is covered, apart from her eyes or mouth. Through altering her appearance Thread Stories questions online versus offline personas. How we show ourselves to others is so important, and Thread Stories questions this. She records the masks through film and photography, only to deconstructs them for new designs.

Polina Osipova, a young designer based in Russia, creates pearl infused head decorations that have fallen straight from a fairytale.

Crystals, lace and beads. Swans, hearts and tears. The energy that surrounds her work is captivating. Polina has built up an instagram persona, with elaborate dresses and backgrounds that have a surreal quality - as if you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole into wonderland.

It is hard to choose a favourite from these creations. One in particular that stands out is the mask ‘Three-headed girls didn’t run past here?’. Other, more bizarre, examples are strangely realistic nosebleeds made from red sequins and beads.

Polina mixes Russian folk art and culture with surveillance iconography. She comments on a society that is constantly watched. Security cameras are a large part of our daily life, and masks are a way to hide ourselves from these eyes. Pearled CCTV cameras are combined with hands and eyes in unusual juxtapositions. The cameras are placed directly on her head, making us think about our compromised private spaces.

The artist also combines cameras with a traditional Russian headdress, the Kokoshnik, in a fun yet provoking look at Russian life. The crystal tears that appear again and again, relate to moments at traditional Russian weddings where the bride cries tears of sadness at leaving her family.

Polina Osipova (image: Lampoon magazine)

There is a purity and elegance to Polina’s pearls, yet the underlying theme to her work, like Thread Stories, is that we are constantly being watched.

Food artist Enora Lalet, is a delicious comparison to show just how far mask making can be pushed. Lalet uses the body and face as a canvas for incredible food sculptures. She plays with body proportions and bold colours. Cut, stitched and glued, food is combined to make elaborate headpieces. Lalet takes the traditional mask form, which is usually material based, and turns it on its back.

Not only are Lalet’s masks aesthetically amazing, but she also explores the important theme of food waste. In her collection ‘Cuisine Toi!’ (2017), the artist works with eight young girls using food waste from a French restaurant to make eight headpieces. The results are an explosion of colour and texture - the opposite of what you’d imagine as food waste.

Lalet also travels the world with this curious art form, using local foods for her headpieces. Food is a difficult material for many reasons, the most obvious being that it decomposes. Recorded through photography, these masks are ephemeral and keep their brilliance only for a few days. The figures underneath the headdresses are painted and the background is often a complimentary colour.

Thread Stories, Polina Osipova and Enora Lalet are three different artists who capture our imaginations. Perhaps our every day Covid masks could do with a spruce up.