At the start of 2020 I wrote a little piece regarding masks as we began to see them creep more and more into our lives. These beautiful images shot in 2013 by my good friend Naomi, who lives in Taiwan was hiding these away and thats no good! The subject matter is relevant and they compliment my fleeting thoughts, so here were are...
The idea of wearing masks is a very foreign thought for western people. Through the development of Christianity the west has trophied individualism and self-expression and the thought of covering up what defines us is for the most part against our instincts. However considering the circumstances perhaps we will see a shift in how people approach this topic and lay down our egos to become a more considerate society.
In the 21st century masks have become common attire in developed Asian countries as people living in more condensed cities seek to protect themselves and others from disease and pollution. The respect shown by individuals towards their society gives way to the notion a greater good and a healthier civilisation. The knock on effects these small actions of self direction have produce great benefits through the wider society and the country as a whole. However physical health isn’t always the motivation for wearing masks, there can be many reasons from fashion to mental well-being. To expand on the latter, living in dense cities such as Hong Kong or Tokyo can mean your personal space is limited and consequently one can feel exhausted from the constant interaction. But the barrier that the mask represents can go some way to separating yourself from the intensity of life in these metropoles, although if masks are made compolsory perhaps this will lead to more exteme feelings of isolation and loneiness.
Still western societies can learn from Asia in this aspect and adopt more precautions in everyday life to help support health services and protect our ageing populations which many countries now have. As more attention is given to our environment, the air we breath and food we produce perhaps we can take up these guidelines at least to give ourselves more time to work on the world we live in to become a healthier place. Or perhaps fear is a better motivator and the threat of future global pandemics will action people to take more responsibility for what they can’t see.