Freddie Yauner on his Mirror Mask and the anti-selfie
London-based artist Freddie Yauner discusses the creation of his Mirror Mask, exploring perception, spectatorship, and the digital era.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Freddie Yauner developed the Mirror Mask after experimenting with mirrors and phones at the Royal College of Art.
- The wearable object functions as an anti-selfie by replacing the wearer reflection with their surroundings.
- A re-edited video of the project unexpectedly went viral across online platforms years after its creation.
- The artist is currently exploring a digital version and broader social applications for the project.
In an era dominated by self-portraits and digital feeds, London-based artist and filmmaker Freddie Yauner has introduced a compelling counter-perspective through his project known as the Mirror Mask. Rather than using a mirror to project an image of the self back at the viewer, this analog object replaces the face of whoever wears it with whatever happens to be standing directly in front of them, prompting critical questions about identity and visual culture.
The conceptual origins of the mask trace back to Yauner time at the Royal College of Art, where he was experimenting with smartphones and mirrors to explore how facial features might be exchanged. The breakthrough moment arrived when he was dismantling an installation and discovered a piece of mirror featuring cutouts for eyes. He immediately put it on, walked around his studio, and realized he had stumbled upon a powerful idea that aligned with his wider filmmaking practice.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
This gesture of turning the mirror outward connects deeply with Yauner interest in identity as a constructed concept. Citing Arthur Rimbaud famous phrase about the self belonging to another, the artist views the mirror mask as a direct rebuttal to the modern selfie culture that places the individual at the center of attention. Instead, the mask positions the surrounding environment as the primary subject of the portrait.
Yauner work highlights an intriguing intersection between traditional physical craftsmanship and modern digital image culture. Although constructed as a physical laser-cut object, the mask gained widespread recognition primarily through its reception online, illustrating how analog art pieces can find unexpected relevance within contemporary social media ecosystems.
Despite being conceived as a tool to shift attention away from the individual, the mask ultimately achieves the opposite effect by drawing intense curiosity from observers. Yauner notes that wearing the object immediately turns the wearer into a spectacle rather than a hidden observer. To push this dynamic further, the artist ordered one hundred masks to test studio scenarios where multiple people wear them simultaneously, altering the standard rules of observation.
"When you wear it, everyone’s actually looking at you, so you become the spectacle more than you can be a secret spectator."
Freddie Yauner
Although the core film had existed quietly for several years, a recent re-editing process with a fresh soundtrack caused the project to circulate widely across digital platforms. Building on this momentum, Yauner is currently investigating a digital adaptation of the mask utilizing smartphone cameras, while also hoping to see the physical object deployed by individuals engaging with broader environmental and human rights causes.
Source: designboom
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