MASK IN THE EYES OF A SLAVIC ARTIST

MASK IN THE EYES OF A SLAVIC ARTIST

Group exhibition, African Culture and Art Center, Sopot, 04.01.2002

This exhibition and the object created for it go beyond the previous works. The theme of the mask demands an exploration of the meanings it carries—whether in the culture of Indigenous peoples of the Americas or African tribes. The basis for this work is a mask used during radiotherapy treatment of brain tumors. The mask is custom-made for each patient during the planning of therapeutic radiation sessions. It allows for precise one-time planning and is used to fixate the head throughout the entire radiation cycle (several to a dozen sessions).

In this object, we find all the elements characteristic of tribal faiths in Africa and the Americas. On one hand, the personal preparation of the mask, its use in a mystical ritual aimed at restoring health, and the application of invisible forces in this ritual (in this case, radiation). Utilitarianly, this mask is not socially recognized, is not archived, is not shown to the family or patient, and disappears after treatment ends.

Turning it into a subject of action—especially in the context of African mysticism—seemed particularly interesting and also fits into the previous understanding of the transgression of objects.