Why Masks?

This project is to serve as a container for all of my thoughts and explorations about identity, archetypes, tradition, rituals, spirituality, and the collective consciousness through the medium of masks. It has been brewing in the background for a quite a few months now and every day that I work on it more lightbulbs go off in my brain and neuro pathways are created.

So you might be wondering: Why masks?

The use of masks in performances and rituals is ancient. It is revitalized and reborn each generation, but the intention seems to stay the same. It's a tool that helps both the performer and the viewer embody and embrace these ancient archetypes we know in our core so intimately, intrinsically, and innately.

What are archetypes?

According to Oxnard Dictionary:

ar·che·type

/ˈärk(ə)ˌtīp/

noun

plural noun: archetypes
a reoccurant symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology.
"mythological archetypes of good and evil"

PSYCHOANALYSIS

(in Jungian psychology) a primitive mental image inherited from the earliest human ancestors, and supposed to be present in the collective unconscious.

Why is this project so important to me?

I wrote a poem about it…

I haven’t written poetry since high school, but this project has been resurfacing a lot of old interests and memories. It’s intended to be spoken word, but I want to provide it here as a sort of recording of my process, my thoughts, and another vehicle to understand this project.