FACE OFF

This is a small set of masked portraits about putting on a happy face. I worked with middle school students and their teachers who cut into a generic “happy” mask to reveal parts of their faces during a portrait sitting. We discussed the fact that people are more prone to show off their good fortune and retreat to solitude when wounded. It makes me think deeply how happiness is worthy of public viewing, and the struggles that build real grit remain largely private. Do we consider happiness much more impersonal than pain?