Eko Nugroho: We Are What We Mask | 4/5

SINGAPORE — The irony of masks is that they simultaneously hide and reveal. And in hotshot Indonesian artist Eko Nugroho’s ongoing exhibition at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute (STPI), this inherent contradiction in the humble object reveals itself in delightfully outlandish ways.

Known for his quirky, sci-fi cartoonish and — given his collaborations with Louis Vuitton — now fashionable style, Nugroho draws inspiration from Mexican wrestling masks, early Islamic head-dresses and face veils as well as the more contemporary bio-hazard protective headgear for his very own garishly-coloured paper creations.

The more conventional two-dimensional paper works feature people wearing the so-called masks. Eyes peer out from strange-looking headgear ranging from the seemingly organic wooden structures to the Merlion itself. Unable to speak, their messages are transmitted via cheeky T-shirt slogans. Face completely covered, a guy wearing “I am with moron” stands beside another person wearing a mask with two pairs of eyes sticking out, his/her T-shirt proclaiming “I am with politician”.

The central works, however, are the colourful and grotesque masks themselves, with fingers or eyeballs sometimes coming out of them. There’s even a huge one for two people.

The more straightforward “face veils”, which cover the wearer’s torso literally become message boards of sorts, inviting the viewer to donate their “smile” or “love”. Nugroho clearly roots the pieces in Singapore with allusions that are immediately familiar, from cheeky aphorisms like “Life is Comfort then you have to pay taxi meter” or something more critical and sombre like “While you start complaining, someone start starving”. The masks are pieces of social commentary delivered with an outlandish wink.

Nugroho, however, is not content with simply creating artefacts or objects for museums or collections — his practice extends beyond the gallery space and we finally see his works come to life as functional pieces in photographs where STPI employees wear them in public spaces, from coffeeshops to rooftops and trains.

This, perhaps, is the best thing in the exhibition. The unusual traits of the masks finally come to life within normal surroundings, their colours and size at times overwhelming the wearer as you ask: Are the people wearing the masks or are the masks wearing the people? MAYO MARTIN

We Are What We Mask runs until Oct 9, 10am to 6pm, Singapore Tyler Print Institute, 41 Robertson Quay. Free admission. Closed on Sundays, Mondays by appointment only.