More often than not, people wear or use masks to hide who they truly are, to appease people in their lives, or who the world expects or perceives them to be. Masks are like a double-edged sword. On the one end, masks, particularly in Africa, have always played a performative role, where people masquerade behind exaggerated or even simplified versions of themselves. For generations, we have been taught to practice customs and question nothing. We are told to follow tradition merely because it is our way of life. It is reinforced in our thinking that we are who we are because our people have always been that way. Essentially, the masks we wear, are handed down to us bearing conventional moral codes – but on the other end, masks have also been pivotal in the preservation of African storytelling. In cultural ceremonies, the masks would be androgynous - a marriage of the sacred masculine and divine feminine. Anyone, whether young, old, male or female could partake in the ceremonies, which signifies inclusivity. In these ceremonies, it is believed that the masks would connect the person behind the mask to those in the spirit realm. I believe that the masks were used as a channel of communication between the physical and nonphysical. In the same way the tribes and spiritual entities used the masks to initiate, entertain, venerate, mourn and celebrate; Absolut Vodka is now the vessel people use to do the same. Having considered this, I was inspired by African masks to celebrate the coming of age and the process of unravelling. For the LGBTQ+ community, shedding the masks they have adorned – for however long, can be a painful process… but there is beauty in that. And that’s what we’re celebrating here. As hard as our pasts may have been, they have informed who we are. There’s beauty in the struggle, there’s beauty in the pain, there’s beauty in our stories of transition. In my entry, the closeness of the masks and faces speak to the strength of the LGBTQ+ community. It is through our collective strength, that is informed by our varied experiences, that we as a people continue to grow. Absolut is about bringing people together. Not only has this spirit given us liquid courage, (lol) but it has also reaffirmed its influence and beliefs for decades. Through this piece I want to acknowledge the great strides Absolut has made to uplift the LGBTQ+ community. In the same way, Absolut advocates for honesty and transparency - which allows one to be invisible and thus invincible. My hope is for the LGBTQ+ community to embrace their inner strength. It is through the journey of self-discovery that we meet people with similarities and differences that connect us. And it is through those connections that we rise above the need to constantly hide ourselves. We make these connections because we ourselves have come to understand the process of unravelling. Through the journey of self-discovery, we meet people with similarities and differences that connect us & help us rise above the need to constantly hide behind masks. That's the beauty of unravelling.
