The Kinetic Mask

The figure embodies societal anxieties around performative identity. Its exaggerated features signal a deliberate construction, a masked self seeking validation through kinetic display.

The disruption—the stain, the vascularity—hints at the cost of maintaining this facade. It reflects a cultural expectation of constant outward expression, exceeding internal resources.

This work interrogates the archetype of the wounded healer—a figure whose suffering is the performance, drawing power and recognition from vulnerability, internalizing external judgment.