Erica Esserman

Masked Reflections

Masked Reflections reveals the human tendency to hide our true selves behind a mask.  This same mask reflects the reality of the individual’s unwanted truths back into the world.  The footage used in the reflections are clips of people meant to elicit strong emotional reactions through empathy in the viewer and through the viewer’s own emotional ties to the subject.  

The single projection is mapped to each flat mirrored face on the mask, so that an individual film clip may be viewed in each projection on the surrounding walls. This fragmented projection represents the separate emotional events that make up the totality of an individual’s emotional experience.  

Because these emotional videos are presented scattered on the walls surrounding the mirrored mask, the viewer themself is surrounded by these emotions. The viewer is called to determine if they will accept the emotions as they are presented, or wear their own mirrored mask and reflect these emotions as well. 

Project Type: Projection Mapped Installation

Date: 2017

Role: Independent Project

Technology: TouchDesigner

Location: University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, United States