JCA De Kok

Sometimes we prefer to act anonymously. We want to be heard but rather not be seen.

The world has a voice. She speaks out in tweets, posts and video messages, firing arguments, calling for action, sometimes offending people or sowing hatred and – in the better cases – fighting against injustice and suffering. But preferably we do that incognito.

In a time where the selfie is the ultimate proof that you were there, others try hard to stay out of sight by covering up their heads. Notably in conflict zones, we see a lot of ‘faceless’ opponents confronting each other.

No matter which master they are serving, knights seldom battle with an open visor anymore. The armour became a shell vest, the lance became an automatic weapon, but the head stays fully covered, privacy guaranteed. And it is not just the aggressor who conceals his face, the liberator too don’t want to be recognized.

And if there are victims, a third concealing mechanism is activated. We cover them out of respect; with everything we can find close by.

A frame defines what is to be seen. Framing includes or excludes things from view.

Masks and balaclava’s are sort of individual frames. You can show yourself in part.

The eyes of suspects used to be covered with a black bar to make them unrecognizable; nowadays it’s the eyes-only that catch the smallest strip of light.

But there are more ways to stay out of view.

With a good camouflage you disappear in your surroundings. You adapt your colour.

Outdoors this asks for green, brown, ochre and sand or in colder regions for white, gray or blue. But it doesn’t stop at your front door.

Inside you survive by merging into homeliness and become:

Deadly decorative