AW22 “i am not myself” The great majority of African masks are associated directly and indirectly with supernatural beings and spirits, the performance of masks generally thought to represent the visit of spirits from the beyond among men in the here and now, in particular spirits of possession. The concept of both spirits and masks are often inspired by dreams and visions. The artist to whom the supernatural presence reveals itself captures its image and the community accepts or rejects its representation in this form. A mask provides no clear indication of the type of presence it is intended to visualize. A performers assumption of a mask and disguise can signify spiritual transfiguration, transfiguration of not only the outward appearance of the masker but his very body and soul. The masker in his eyes and the yes of the audience temporarily ceased being himself. The spirits power is absolute. This power inheres solely in supernatural beings, the masquerade is ineffectual and without meaning outside the ritual. The road from demoniacal curios to highly valued works of art was studded with misunderstanding. With this body of work in this space we aim to use aesthetical systems to change the incomprehensible eyes of the west to be seen as a carefully considered distillation of forms. As an esteemed creator of identifiable bodies of work using passed ancient techniques as well as new we begin to disrupt the assumption of naïve spontaneity. The suspenseful relationship between old and new is the key to understanding the history of art in general. The artists depiction becomes complete through the viewer’s imagination. Showing at @design_zentrum_hamburg @fashionafricanow 23-25 Sept 2022 supported by @goetheinstitut_hamburg