The work takes its inspiration from the painted faces of Peking opera. In Chinese opera, the painted face is a mask worn by the performer: it marks the character's identity and stands for a typical personality.
I am not good at putting myself in other people's shoes. I often treat people and things as a screen onto which I project myself, unconsciously assuming that others think the way I do, or imposing my will on them. Gradually I began to feel that I had only ever been talking to myself.
For this series I asked friends to wear my mask, chose their clothes and directed their poses. Once everyone wore the same "face" as me, I saw how absurd a world without individuality or difference would be — it became like a science-fiction film about clones. It made me ask whether I should actively recognise that other people have personalities different from my own.
