The Fox is a young character based on a clever yet curiously fragile animal, small in size and often solitary. Its large eyes and ears represent constant vigilance. Its snout delicately projects forward, exposing part of its side teeth. A mask that gleams and aligns with harmonious patterns of formal construction; a veil that suggests socially accepted beauty through its pale and iridescent appearance, though punctually stained by the navy blue that emerges from within the piece over the teeth and nostrils. A form intended to instill fear, beneath which lies what is considered fragile and/or unworthy. The same applies to its eyes—absent to withhold any truth that might be expressed without its consent.

This ceramic mask, like the others of the project Nata, reinterprets and satirizes our condition as maintainers of appearances through the conflict between the sensual character, weight, and fragility of the object. It also alludes to the possibility of exchange/change, allowing the archetype to extend beyond myself or the character, into other contexts, personalities, and moods.

As for me, the photographic work is an investigation into the construction of my image as a man, an attempt to see and present myself through the lens of fantasy. However, the formality expressed in the clothing, the polished shoes, and the frame represents a latent search for recognition common to all. It is a work that explores themes of self-knowledge and the construction of self-image.

Finally, Self-Portrait or The Fox is true to the contradiction so dear to me in that: by portraying itself masked, the character unveils itself, revealing falsity in order to be truthful in its confession of weakness. It symbolizes that which lies in between, that which is incompatible, that which hides and reveals itself at the same time.

Photograph by Kenneth Kemp