These Crocheted Masks Illustrate How We Portray Ourselves Online

    By
    Pie
    -

    For Irish artist Threadstories, the way we portray ourselves on the internet is like wearing a mask, concealing our true identity.

    “The masks deny the viewer the full story of who the sitter is, echoing the curated or false personas we portray and view online daily,” Threadstories told Colossal. “The masks are mutations of our private and public selves.”

    The visual artist created wearable textile masks to illustrate how we present ourselves online. Each piece starts with a crocheted baklava which Threadstories uses as a base to connect each segment of materials. Her works are made with traditional techniques and inspired by Francis Bacon’s distorted figural paintings to the art of basketweaving.

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    My top 4 for 2018, not these exact masks but moments they represent. Top Left – abstracting the mask through movement. This painterly quality is capturing something that interests me, an essence, emotion not sure but it’s a thread I want to follow. Bottom Left – the collision of spray paint on a crochet mask represents a reckless approach to material exploration, dye baths, drawing on masks, spraying masks with pigment to see what happens- embracing chance always. Top Right Working with a professional photographer for the first time. @hazelcoonagh. As well as creating dynamic images it also allowed me the opportunity to show the masks in a different context swipe to see ➡️ Working small and intimate crocheting these soft masks on my lap then perverting this domestic craft through scale and context inspires me endlessly. Having professionally shot images allowed me to work on this scale. Bottom right – Creating trippy film pieces with @sixbetweenfilm for two exhibitions this year. A solo show at Kilkenny Arts Office and two film pieces for an international group show at The National Design & Craft Gallery titled .OBJ ( still on ). These surreal slow moving film pieces are so beautiful and crisp shot on a 4K camera. Slide across to see a tiny sample of one. All these moments this year where new for me and are my top 4. Thank you to @littleredhen_ @sixbetweenfilm @hazelcoonagh @noraomurchu @maserart @ndcgallery @dccoi

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