When I was 16, I suffered a wound that I could not tell anyone about. I was still a minor and had been sexually assaulted by a teacher. Whenever I cried alone, I impulsively took a selfie of myself crying. I turned 19. I was accepted into the university I wanted to go to, and I am now happy, having cut ties with the source of my past suffering. However, the more I moved forward as my current self, the more I felt that my 16-year-old self, linked to the painful memories, was being left behind and alone.

So I created a Noh mask based on a selfie I took of myself crying at age 16. Then, while wearing the mask, I tried lots of fun activities. My past self borrowed my present self's body and enjoyed the "now."

At first, the expression on this Noh mask symbolized a painful past. However, after wearing it and playing, if you look at the expression on the mask again, it seems to be smiling a little, doesn't it?