The Mask – First Layer
2025.
Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions W20cm x L25cm
This first mask was not crafted from truth. It was assembled from observation and longing. A wolf in sheep’s clothing and a lion dressed as a wolf. It was confusing and self-deceptive. I was trying to belong by becoming something else.
But even in its awkwardness, this mask held power. It was a gesture toward becoming. A rehearsal. A reaching.
In my painting, I hold this moment still. The figure is framed by hands, as if caught mid-transformation. The face is flushed with red and pink, the mouth open in something between speech and silence. The background is green, a colour of growth and contradiction.
This piece is not about perfection. It is about the first attempt. The first layer. The first time I tried to be seen.
Esther Akello 