‘My Masquerade' is based around narcissistic abuse and the effect it has on the abused as an adult. The masquerade they play in the mask they have carefully curated so that they seem okay or normal. They poke and prod at themselves to fit a mold that was maybe never meant for them. Unable to feel or feeling way too much, all this suffering hidden under a simple mask, a simple smile.
The images shown consist of different struggles in adult life from the abuse. Depersonalization, a person’s crooked view of the world, the manipulation of a person’s world, depression and outright lies. The masks that have been used are drawn over in a cartoonish manner to make it seem comically theatrical to emphasize the façade that the wearer holds together every day, using hard shadows to make it look like a stage spotlight to convey the wearers harsh reality, one that they may not want to see themselves. The model has patterns drawn on their skin mirroring and highlighting the cracks that are clearly visible to us but not to them as they keep trying to continue to ‘play their part’ even when the don’t have to.
