remarks from guangzhou » face-mask

happy year of the tiger!

gab — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:54:31 +0000

presents

gab — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:41:33 +0000

While living on campus I saw a great variety of face-masks worn by the young and sometimes hip. From prissy (Hello Kitty), to decorative patterns, from to plain and straight-laced to quirky (see above). An ideal giftette for friends back home, so I thought. And indeed, Iris and Christine enjoyed the humor, and wore their masks with flair. Quite a spectacle in the middle of an Amsterdam café.

(a face-mask in Shenzhen)

reboot

gab — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:27:47 +0000

After almost a month of blog idleness – due to heavy teaching load, various visitors, and a bit of travelling – I’ll attempt to resume some kind of posting frequency. Albeit in no particular chronological order. So I’ll begin with a couple photos that I took yesterday, in Shenzhen, where I was visiting the 2009 Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture.
These photos obviously have nothing to do with architecture or urbanism – but I have to admit, this face mask thrilled me more than any of the works I’d seen. Striking and bizar, the zipper lips are actually rather practical too, at least I imagine they are, because the voice of the wearer is no longer muffled by the mask. However, I’m sure the main point is the visual effect – either looking like a character from a comic, or playfully conveying the issue of free speech. Cool!