Check out the latest issue of Vogue Homme Japan, Volume 3, to catch the creations of our featured gallery artist, Shin Murayama. Murayama’s masks are transforming in the most titillating way. Without covering the entirety of the face, and always leaving the eyes on display, Murayama’s masks rearrange facial structures and expressions while still leaving the wearer recognizable.Two of Murayama’s masks are featured in Vogue Homme Japan, one which will be sold in the IDLM Gallery. The branch mask is featured in ‘Bondage Warriors,’ shot by Steven Klein and styled by Nicola Formichetti.The smiling tooth mask, shot by Jeremy Kost and styled by Shun Watanabe, will be for sale in the IDLM Gallery.
Oscar Wilde once said, “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” Maybe the best way to uncover someone is to recreate half of their face. Kost’s polaroid shots are exploitative of the realness aspect of the masks. His face may be covered, but don’t his eyes still pierce right through you?