Hypertrophies of the face. Toward a phenomenology of masking

This study explores the face and the mask as intertwined phenomena, emphasizing their role as semiotic and performative devices that manipulate appearance, identity, and social interactions. It examines the historical and cultural significance of masks, from Paleolithic funeral rites to contemporary rituals such as the Māori haka, highlighting how facial expressions can function as living masks. Drawing on semiotic, dramaturgical, and psychological models, it conceptualizes masks as operators of displacement between identity and otherness, emphasizing their role in shaping social and cultural identities. The discussion introduces the notion of face-mask dynamics, illustrating how deliberate facial distortions, exemplified by the Māori haka, serve as intentional hypertrophies that blur the boundary between natural face and symbolic mask. Concluding, the study advocates a reconceptualization of the mask as a phenomenological category—an apparatus that both conceals and produces visibility, meaning, and subjectivity—thereby enriching our understanding of masking phenomena across cultures and contexts.