Masking...

Still thinking about masks. Not only does the world see the mask-wearer differently; the mask-wearer experiences a different world. The loss of peripheral vision simultaneously concentrates and diminishes vision. The taken-for-granted richness of a peripheral world is denied. The wearer is doubly 'masked'.

One of the practical outcomes of this (I discovered) is that you bump into people!

And I am reminded of a time in Nelson when I was about four years old. It was the Nelson Mardi Gras and I had a cat mask (much treasured, I still have it). I remember the mask, the swirl of celebrating adults and a steep hill down which intrepid youngsters were go-carting.

Which triggers much thinking about the nature of memory....

Identities

"There will be time, there will be time

To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet..." (TS Eliot)

The Lyttelton Street Party on Friday prompted some thoughts about identity.

At the personal level, wearing a mask is intensely liberating.  You feel simultaneously visible and invisible with permission to say and do things that you might not otherwise. (The combination of mask and mulled wine was especially potent!).

The masked parade, which launched the Lyttelton Street Party, says much about the identity of the town. Creative, inclusive, quirky and in your face, Lyttelton embraces difference, proudly announces 'take me as I am, warts and all'!  At its core is a group of people who work very hard - and very successfully - to promote a strong  community identity.

Thank you to the creator of this mask who generously allowed me to photograph her wonderful work of art.