Personatus is probably the most relatable project I've worked on. Especially because the photos told the story I wanted it to tell explicitly.
Here's a repost of what I wrote about it when I shared the colored variants.
Personatus is a Latin adjective that translates to "masked" in English. And it is the perfect word that describes this project I worked on last year.
The word mask can be or mean several things but based on the premise of this project, the mask signifies a person in disguise. When a person is in disguise, their true identity is concealed. Sometimes, we choose to disguise ourselves, other times, society conditions us to.
I created this project after my realization that identity crisis was a serious thing in Nigeria. And a lot of us youths are suffering it. Nigeria like so many other African countries is laced with many conventions, opinions, and standards.
The presence of these conventions means that unconsciously we are conditioned to live by them, and any act of rebellion will be judged by society.
Conventions aren't necessarily a bad thing, but over time most of them have become stale and redundant; they no longer align with new-age thinking. Some people have chosen to be rebellious, while others who are not strong enough, conform to the will of society. In conforming, we mask our true self, becoming less of us, and more of what society wants.
Here are monochrome variants of the masked one;
The photos are my entry for the #monomad challenge.
Congratulations. Today's #monomad second place is yours.
Thank You very much for participating and for being part of the Black And White Community!