Mask Layer.

This work explores the theme of human change, hidden beneath the masks we wear. These masks are not just elements of social play but protective layers formed under the pressure of pain, past experiences, and the need to adapt. Over time, they wear out, crack, and peel away, leaving behind an unstable, not yet hardened new shell.

This process is akin to the molting of crustaceans. When the old shell becomes too tight, it cracks and falls away, exposing the soft, vulnerable body underneath. During this period, the creature is particularly defenseless against external threats, as the new shell has not yet hardened. This moment is transitional, filled with duality: on the one hand, it is liberation from old constraints; on the other, it is the exposure of a fragile essence, which will soon once again be concealed beneath a new protective layer.

The visual image captures the process in which the old mask gradually peels away, revealing soft, pliable skin—still breathing, yet doomed to soon harden. In this state, a person is especially sensitive—they have not yet hidden behind a new layer of concrete armor, but they also cannot remain open forever. This is an inevitable cycle: people change, but rarely remain their true selves, as the surrounding reality compels them to construct new protective structures.

The work captures this delicate moment—the instant between past and future forms, between old defenses and new ones, between vulnerability and the necessity of hiding once more. This fleeting interval is rare and transient, yet within it lies a truth that a person rarely allows themselves to reveal.