Vietnamese identity hidden in masks

Through the ups and downs of history, Hoi An still has mossy roofs with yellow walls - which have long become a unique highlight for the ancient beauty here. Located right in this heritage city is an extremely special cultural space with hundreds of masks, through which talented artisans have breathed national soul.

Author Vo Van Viet recorded the work of artisans in the process of creating the art of painting masks on papier-mâché, through the photo album “Vietnamese identity hidden in masks”. This album was also submitted by the author to the Photo and Video Contest “Happy Vietnam”, organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

The artisan must constantly be creative to draw beautiful masks that have soul and convey messages of life. And so, thousands of masks have been drawn by the artisan.

Folk paper masks have their own spirit, which is expressed in the eyes. The artisan always follows the yin-yang rule in mask painting, including 5 main colors: yellow, white, red, black, blue.

And their name is "time masks" because according to the artist, when looking at them, we can see layers of cultural meaning bearing the mark of time of the nation.

The artisan spent decades making the masks through many stages from plaster or cement application, papier-mâché gluing, whitewashing, drying, drawing, coloring...

What's special is that the artist only paints each mask once, not repeatedly, because repetition causes boredom and reduces the value of the work of art.

The most difficult thing is to breathe life into each mask through each stroke so that it is both vivid and clearly represents the value of Vietnamese folk art and culture.

Each of these handmade masks has its own story and soul.

Mâché masks are becoming more and more popular among domestic and international tourists visiting Hoi An. This is also an opportunity to promote Vietnamese culture./.

Vietnam.vn