How many times have we fallen in love because we looked at a face. We had a jolt of emotion for a smile. A rapid heartbeat for a desired mouth to kiss. The lip line pose that speaks to us more than a thousand words.

We chose a companion because we chose their face first and foremost. They say that a recently born baby relates to and focuses on the mother’s face before any other object.

If seeing the image of an uncovered face induces behavioral and social normality and relationships, it seems unacceptable to us when the face is hidden. Of course, the gaze remains to be scrutinized; investigate the flashes of light and shadow that are produced there. The chatter of the eyes. Fortunately.

For a long period between 2020 and 2022 we had lost our faces, our mimicry. What characterizes us most. Here is the portrait. Painters and photographers have always dedicated themselves with particular fervour to bringing out the soul, feelings and passions of the subject in their features. Everything that would otherwise remain abstract, ephemeral. Brutally hidden, at that time, behind a mask.

Then it was another challenge, in this case to perpetuate a friendly physiognomy, I asked friends and acquaintances to portray themselves with the mask. Although the photographic narration of people with their faces partially covered conveyed a clear sense of discomfort and constriction. Thus, was born this project of uncertain portraiture.