“Full-face”

Alanna Mahon

14 x 16”: Wearable sculpture and photography

ARTIST STATEMENT

Inside. 

Inside is a home. 

A home of pure love, honest expression and dark fears. 

A home we dare to venture walking through its doors, for the pain that could come flying out, like black crows from a neglected dust-covered cabin, might be too much for us to handle.

But this home always has its doors open and waiting, with a fire steadily burning in the furnace, to keep us warm from the cold of the demons that live in this home. 

This home sits two doors down, always there, yet never visible to my neighbor. 

A wall masks the hidden. 

Words, gestures, sounds and actions are the architectural build of the wall.

Some walls appear too clean, and shiny that it ends up drawing attention to the sacred home behind. Some walls are just as neglected and run down as the dust-covered cabin on the ground behind. 

This might put your home in danger of predators.

A fox might venture in and wait by a window for those crows to fly out, only so he can get a taste of the bird’s blood, and kill it before it reaches the heaven’s above.

The wall keeps everything, but the eyes of the windows hidden,

to keep watch, and reflect all who pass by, the dark of the night and the light of the day. 

Your neighbor has a wall keeping a hidden home out of sight too. Everyone has one. 

These walls are unique to the way the sun shines on their hidden home, and the way the moon’s glow illuminates their hidden home at night.  

Knock down the wall with strength. 

Your neighbor sees your home, and you see theirs. 

We all wear masks. 

In Japan, Kabuki masks are worn by performers to amplify the persona of a character being played in a theatrical dance performance. In Africa, some masks have spiritual and religious value, some are used for ceremonial and festive purposes. Community is found through mask ritual. Shamans in various cultures around the world use masks to venture into the underworld to heal and transform wounds. Some masks can be funny, and some masks can be scary. To wear an all white mask is symbolic of a blank slate of expression, free from any preconceived persona. This white mask offers space for a new persona to emerge, that is only unique to the person behind. In the history of Chinese opera masks, the color white is used to symbolize treacherousness and craftiness. Today, we all have to wear masks together, whether we like it or not. We wear a mask out of respect for those in our community who have weaker bodies. We notice the eyes of others more now, and we spend more time alone inside our homes. Transformation isn’t easy. 

To see more of the artist’s work, take a look at her Instagram (@un_titledd).