I was planning on creating a traditional Dominican “devil” mask. Being inspired by Frida Kahlo and the story of her conflicting background, because i personally relate to that being from 2 cultures who challenge each other. From a Christian or outsider’s point of view, or my moms side of the family at the very least, these characters are considered scary, bad or evil, because of how they look. But they are actually protector spirits, they are dancers and creatives and they care for the children, and try to make them happy. This is something that always meant a lot to me and made me feel safe, because purity culture and the religion I was involved with made me believe that good people were the men in power who actually abused said power. & I felt oppressed as a woman being forced to wear a head-covering out of the idea that it would protect me from bad people, when actually it opened the door for those people instead. It reminds me of how in the Bible, angels are actually scary, with multiple eyes and strong, loud voices. They always say “have no fear”, whereas the devil is actually the one who changes his appearance to seem good as a way to trick you and tempt you towards him. I always have thought about appearances and the ways people treat each other, but even animals and fictional beings, based solely on how they are depicted. I am choosing to make my mask out of air-dry clay, fabric and cardboard for it to be lightweight to wear for performance.
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