18 x 14 in. found object on wood panel

Many reasons can contribute to us wearing masks to hide our true selves. Some of the common reasons can involve social discrimination, bullying, violence, rejection, and fear.  Masking personality protects you from emotional and mental harm. It also works to protect your self-esteem. In a situational context, masking can help us disguise our negative emotions such as anger, rage, and jealousy. However, masking your true self can eventually lead to existential exhaustion where you might forget who you truly are.

Masks also represent supernatural beings, departed ancestors, and invisible powers. Masks are widely used to create alternative realities; examples range from traditional shamanic rituals in Inner Asia to computer-mediated virtual reality (VR) creations anywhere in the world. Such creative masks help wearers to suspend their everyday identities and assume new ones. Hence, a mask often conceals one identity to reveal new possibilities.