The Figurative Work

According to Jung, every person has a male and female inside of them, not necessarily in equal parts, but some remnant of each resides inside. Casado explains, “ What these photographs do, I hope, is release both, so you can feel emotion from both your male and female components. “Oddly enough, sometimes a mask gives you a freedom to let those undiscovered selves emerge. Casado makes his own masks, designing them for the individual models. In the private world of his photo shoots, the model’s body is completely exposed and the face hidden, a reversal of the norms of everyday life. The rich, detailed text of the face can no longer be read, but the body is an open book. The effect on both the model and photographer is profound. New freedoms are found. “ Once I put a mask on the models, they are liberated to move inside their bodies. With time they come out of the closet, so to speak, and are wide open. It became like therapy. We are both wringing wet when we are done because we are emotionally drained. It’s not about sex. If you really work hard at being a person, one of the things you’ve got to work hard at is trying to understand yourself, and being honest, and that is so hard. It is so hard. And one of the ways that you can do that is to find yourself in a situation where you are without your clothes, standing in a room, it’s dark, and for the first time in your life you can be or do whatever you want to be. There is usually very little talking. I see them beginning to perspire, to itch. I can actually see them thinking.” Taking pause from the everyday you, the identity written all over your expressive face, gives a glimpse of other possibilities. Perhaps, for a moment, this is where you can find God Self that is always there, but playing hide-n-seek with him/herself. Clayton Maxwell