Audiovisual. 01:20 minutes. 1920×1080. 2026
The mask is a universal tool that activates transformation at the level of role and spirit. It allows the user to change their face in order to perform a role or action, to embody a spirit, myth, or deity, to liberate themselves by concealing their identity, and to transform into something beyond their “normal” self. It functions as a means of transition between worlds. Through this ritual, social and personal identity ceases to be static and becomes flexible. The mask is the embodied manifestation of archetypes (behavioral patterns arising from the collective unconscious), functioning as a tool of psychological and social transformation. As a pattern, it is universal. The need for transformation appears in various cultures regardless of nation, language and era.
The audiovisual artwork Masks consists of a rapid sequence of images of masks that serves as a visual metaphor for the fluidity of the “persona”. The selection of masks from different eras and cultures touches on Jung’s concept of archetypes, as we see the repetition of forms and practices in cultures that do not communicate with each other. Therefore, the mask is the way in which people embody and experience archetypes, linking transformation with the constant search for the self. The sound is the result of an experiment in digital processing of natural sounds (wooden knocks and whispers) and recordings, which functions as the collective breath that connects the primal nature of the mask with the modern man.
This artwork was presented in April 2026 at the cultural event Screenings in the city: A three-day festival of audiovisual artworks in public spaces. An annual initiative organized in the city of Volos by the Laboratory of Culture and Digital Media of the Department of Culture and Creative Media and Industries of the University of Thessaly, Greece. Curation: Maria Paschalidou and Dana Papachristou.