Our Mask - Performance Piece

We put on a mask to appear friendly as we are social beings and so indirectly value social interaction with other beings. People want to be perceived as being friendly, though once you start to lift the mask, you don't always give off the image you want to portray, and so sometimes it is best to keep the mask on.
Ishmail Reed, an American novelist, said it best: "masks are necessary for living in the world." William Pope L has written a book entitled "The Friendliest Black Artist In America" on masking ourselves, not just racially, but socially and I believe this is one of the ways we do it; by smiling.
The different colours of the masks represent the different ethnicities as the smile is indeed universal.

Melanie Stones
Music by: Edith Piaf