Mask c. 1940s

This mask, by the artist Wee, is a powerful object. We don't know when it was made but, looking at it, I can imagine the artist painstakingly building it up, adding layer upon layer of meaning. There's a real sense of play in its construction, that tension between intention and accident. It makes me wonder what the artist Wee was thinking as they worked. Were they trying to capture a specific emotion, or were they letting the materials guide them? There’s a performative element to this mask. The dark wood is covered in what look like rivets, the moustache looks like some kind of weird sea creature, and at the bottom is a brass bell. Wee is not just showing us something; he is inviting us to participate in some way. Like any great artwork, it leaves you with more questions than answers. In the act of creation, Wee is in conversation with artists across time and cultures, each adding their own voice to the ongoing dialogue of human expression.