Honne & Tatemae Armoured Mask [COMING SOON]

[COMING SOON!] Photos is displaying the current prototype of the Honne & Tatemae Armoured Mask. Changes to the final shape will be made to fit more comfortably on the face.

Concept

The concept behind this piece is centered around the desire to speak what is on your mind, but the inability to do so more often than not. Mental health is a topic, now in high discussion in online-spaces, but still something not easily brought up in day-to-day conversations, despite its importance and impact on our everyday living.

Often, we can only have deep and personal conversations on rare occasions, and in most situations (at work, school, with extended family, larger social gatherings, etc) we're a "watered-down" version of ourselves.

In Japanese, the words "本音" read "honne," and "建前" read "tatemae," are used to describe the "inner truth" and "outer facade" respectively.

The graphics on this mask depicts this concept by featuring a complex circuit board pattern on the "本音" side, to represent the complexity of our inner feelings. The blank slate on the "建前" side represent the inability to share the inner feelings easily.

As a face mask, the product itself is also representative of the "mask" we adorn when presenting ourselves publicly, with the "x" shape directly over the mouth representing our inability to speak.

Product Specifications

The Honne & Tatemae Armoured Mask is made from 3mm acrylic, laser cut to shape. The base is made from black acrylic, and the "x" shape is a second layer made from white acrylic. Both layers are UV printed with their respective graphics, and then heat formed for curvature. The layers are adhered together with CA glue, and both sides attached with black zip ties. The sides of the mask feature an adjustable black elastic cord with a matte black metal toggle.

Dimensions: