Sisters - Seeing Beyond The Mask

What is a social mask? Can the people who are closest to you see behind it and name that thing you do to cover your insecurities and vulnerabilities?

These are the questions that provoked this entire show. For Laura and Rebbekah, their eight sisters were the perfect subjects to test out this hypothesis. 

 

The idea started with Laura and Rebbekah discussing the ways they socially masked while talking about Laura’s newest self portrait of herself. One Rebbekah begged to paint. What Rebbekah saw and named was exactly what Laura was feeling when she took the shot. They then began breaking down the social masking of each sister and talked about ways that one sheer dress, a device they felt represented a mask, in that you can put it on and take it off and sort of see through it, could be utilised visually to capture what they were seeing. They spent two months coming up with briefs for each sister.

 

During the photoshoot they learned that some briefs were fully thought out, solid and connected immediately with that sister. But others… were a bit more difficult to identify. The toughest sister to correctly identify was their older sister Jessica. The oldest. No matter what they came up with, Jessica felt like they were still falling short of who she felt she was. This shook them as they began to realise that maybe what they thought was a social mask (the persona we put on to hide behind) was not a helpful interpretation. They were stumped because what they saw in Jessica aligned with an interpretation of control. But Jessica was adamant that she wasn’t feeling it.

 

After multiple conversations with Jessica. Rebbekah realised that a mask can’t be control because the very essence of a mask is about our ability to control how the world views us. So she thought back to when they were little, and the way Jessica behaved as a child. She would beg Rebbekah to go to the flower field to pick flowers for the dinner table. Jessica sighed when Rebbekah would wear clashing patterned clothes and to Rebbekah’s dismay redo her entire outfit. She loved a clean, fresh house. In fact even as an adult Jessica values a clean beautiful space so much that she donates her time and energy cleaning houses for people struggling with depression. Then Rebbekah thought about what they had learned about Jessica through this process. The way she wouldn’t reveal in the moment what she was really going through, especially if it wasn’t pleasant. That’s when it clicked for Rebbekah. Jessica’s mask wasn’t control. The common denominator in Jessica was her desire for beauty. Rebbekah and Laura had been so focused on the negative of a person’s mask, that they overlooked the positive in what a mask could be. The thing we value so much that we aim to showcase it in our persona’s.

 

With this new discovery, Rebbekah and Laura looked closely at each sister’s mask. Here’s what they found.

 

Anavah - Forced Maturity. We often joke that while the youngest, she’s also the grandma of the siblings. She’ll take on more than any eleven year old should, but sometimes that means she can feel like her childishness is out of place. 

Chavah - Cutesy. At thirteen, she is exploring the new world of adolescence and figuring out who she wants to be. She is well liked with flocks of friends at her beck and call, but she’ll hardly let you see her struggle and only tell you what she thinks you want to hear. 

Bethany - Independence. She isn’t easily swayed by others opinions and knows what she wants, but she has a hard time asking for help and doesn’t like to be relied on by others.  

Emma - The caretaker. She goes through lengths to make sure that every single person feels seen, but she has a hard time standing up for herself. 

Abigail - Deflector. She always has time to hear your grievances and usually adds deep insight into what you are going through, but when it’s about herself she will only open up to those she truly trusts. 

Simeret - The Warrior. She is the most loyal friend and will defend you to the end, but she has a hard time trusting people and often doesn’t believe that someone could take care of her the same way. 

Laura - Fear of missing out. She is always the person to make sure everyone gets included and she works hard to make sure no one is left behind, but she worries no one ever thinks about her and being left out hurts more than words can say. 

Rebbekah - The clown. Her greatest joy is to make someone laugh, but it’s when she feels the most uncomfortable that she’ll turn on the clown and funerals maybe aren’t the place for a joke. 

Jessica - Beauty. She is beauty and she’s grace and she’s always ready to share it with anyone who needs it, but when she is feeling low or her world doesn’t feel beautiful enough to share she’ll hide, even when she might need someone most.

 

Our mask is a culmination of the way we hide when we are feeling vulnerable and the thing that is our strengths when we are at our best. Those who truly know us can indeed identify our masks, but it takes careful consideration and a lot of listening. Is it worth it? 100%.