MOLDY FRUIT | THE MASK

INTRODUCTION

For the following project, we were presented with the theme of the mask. The mask or wearable garment allows for one to change their identity, simply by the imagery and personality the mask displays. The mask itself is transformative, which was one of the goals of this project. When coming up with concepts for my own mask, I originally wanted to make something abstract, experimental and unidentifiable. Then I decided to merge my art style and concepts used in my music and illustration to make an interpretive mask.

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I came up with the idea of making a collective of masks made out of fruit. With the time constraint, although given an extra week, I decided to play it safe and only create one out of my three masks. The “moldy fruit” illustrated above showcase fruit that are of course defective, moldy, and full of imperfections. I decided to play around with shapes and interpretation of mold and defects, and illuminate them and make them more playful and attractive. The fruit that I wanted to model the most was the pear, since I’m attracted to curvature and round shapes in natural design, and I personally like the lime-colored fruit.

CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN

I went through a lot of troubleshooting when making this mask. At first, I wanted to make a helmet mask of the pear, but this proved a little bit difficult as a first time attempt in making a full fledged mask. I ended up useding a base mask from a costume store and mostly newspaper for papier-mache.

In Andrew’s class, we learned how to use a variety of materials, such as armature wire and Super Sculpey clay. I was able to construct the top section of the pear using tin foil and armature wire, then building onto it with paper clay and newspaper. To seal the rest of the paper together, I used flour/water mixture. After painting the pear with acrylic and gouache, I added 3D elements with Super Sculpey clay, painted and detailed with gouache. The final product is a cute, innocent looking pear, with exaggerated defects. The bumps and scratches all over the skin of the pear are painted in a variety of colours, and little specks of mold are glued onto the mask to give the mask more dimension.

The moldy fruit concept is based off a song I wrote with my band “Erotica”, called “Pomme Pomme,” about a fruit falling from a tree. Below are the lyrics to the song:

Fruit fell from the tree!
It is faulty.
Fruit fell, how do I put it back?

Fruit fell from the tree!
Decay, defective.
Fruit fell, melt into the ground.

Fruit fell from the tree!
It is faulty.
Fruit fell, give it another chance!

AFTER CRITIQUE

The main thing I would’ve done differently is approach my idea in a more sensical matter. I originally spent time working on three different masks, but didn’t use my time properly so could only execute one. The final product, I feel executed my idea very well. I wanted to present something grotesque and sometimes seen as unsanitary as nature’s art (because mold comes in many types of colors, textures and sizes) and apply it to a concept and a character I’ve wanted to revive. Some changes I would make to this mask in the future is adding eye, nose and mouth holes to the mask so it could be wearable, especially if I were to perform this song. Also giving the pear a more smoother, rounded finish could communicate the design of the fruit more properly. Overall, I think for my first mask project I did well, and critique helped me understand what I could’ve done to elevate the mask more.

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