‘Anonymity is a power that comes with any mask’ – Damselfrau

Tell us about the linguistics of your pseudonym, ‘Damselfrau’, which combines the English word ‘Damsel’ (unmarried woman) and the German word ‘Frau’ (married woman).

‘Damselfrau’ is a word play that actually used to be my Skype name, long before the masks appeared. I was listening to a lot of German industrial music in the early 2000’s and the name came out on the back of that. It was just luck that it suited the mask project. It has a duality that the masks also have, I suppose it’s a word that masks itself! I felt it was a good fit and lent itself easily to the project. 

Damselfrau has a duality that the masks also have

Tell us about the journey of your practice and your material, technique, and imagistic explorations. How did you get into mask making?

The masks were a byproduct of making outfits for clubbing, ten years back. It was a small and easy format to work with on my kitchen table, so it naturally stuck. I have always collected materials, so it was nice to find a place to put them all. And from there, I’ve just kept making slowly and organically, learning from looking at clothes, books and YouTube. I’ve tried to let the masks make their own way and not make too many decisions on their behalf. The materials lead the process.

I never come to the work with an idea, the idea appears in the materials. I don’t design, draw or plan. I just sculpt with the materials I have at hand. I sew in the direction I am lead. I use basic techniques mainly. It’s important for me to keep it uncomplicated and work fast. I get bored very easily, so I have to keep the speed up and get things done. It’s quite fragile really, I have to keep myself interested at every moment, all the time. 

The materials lead the process

It’s refreshing to scroll through your Instagram (which is embedded amongst infinite digital aesthetics and instant manipulations of the body that play at futurism) and see such richly traditional visuals and references. Have you noticed this phenomenon of positivity that re-associating the body with slow craft and ancestral tradition instills in your audience? 

I’ve found a large Instagram community of people making work with the same approach as me, within different disciplines. Instagram has been paramount for sharing my work, but the important thing is that the work is in the real. There is a big movement of slow work going on in reaction to our online life. People are really hungry for feeling time.

I’m self-taught, I never learned the ‘right’ and ‘proper’ ways to do things. I think that’s been of great help. Time has been my most precious material in this whole process. Learning slowly, tweaking it as I like, trying and testing. Playing, really. 

People are really hungry for feeling time

The lack of facial recognition on your Instagram is also highly refreshing. Is the subject of anonymity inherently woven into your work as a mask maker?

Anonymity is absolutely a power that comes with any mask. I’m not a particularly private person, but I came to Instagram through the masks, as it was a superb way for them to communicate for themselves. I just want to show the work.

Tell us about your most recent solo exhibition in Trondheim, Norway. 

I grew up in Trondheim. It has a great design museum with a great collection — the Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum — and I have strong memories of this building from childhood. When they invited me to come and show work, I was ecstatic! It’s a big space, and they let me do whatever I wanted. I displayed 86 masks, hung from the ceiling like terracotta warriors. I covered the building facade’s 42 windows with foils with details from masks. It was a particularly wonderful experience for me.

Instagram: @Damselfrau
https://www.damselfrau.com
http://damselfrau.blogspot.com