African Masks

Dusk in a village of the Congo basin, and the drums start up. The masks are coming out, and nobody present is entirely sure who is wearing them.

African masks span West and Central Africa. Lega masks of the Bwami society, whitened with kaolin. Songye kifwebe masks striated in red, black and white. Fang ngil masks from Gabon, worn by the male Ngil society at initiations and in hunting out wrongdoers. Dan passport masks, small enough to fit a palm, carried as charms. Guere gela or war masks from Liberia and Ivory Coast, mixing human and animal features to draw off a community’s ill will. Dogon sirige masks in tall plank towers; Yoruba epa masks crowning helmet heads with figures. Chokwe, Punu, Baule and Makonde masks, and Himalayan masks from Nepal danced at Dussehra, join them.

Pigment, raffia, horn and brass on weathered wood.

Hang one on limewash. Expect to be watched.