From the secret parties in Reinaissance Venice to Jim Carrey’s hilarious The Mask movie, the act of covering one’s face has let humanity somehow transcend the boundaries of reality and enter an alternate dimension where all is possible and consequences are suspended. To somehow harness that mystical power, designer Melissa Ng has created a line of suggestive 3D printed masks, each with its own significance and use.
Lumecluster Dreamer Half Mask: Beacon
by lumecluster
on Sketchfab
Whilst one may or may not believe in esoteric influences governing our consciousness, there is little doubt that Ng’s masks evoke powerful feelings and emotions; they are just beautiful to look at, and impossible to make without Shapeways’ laser sintering systems – where Melissa has her online shop. Their primary objective – in a very New York City kind of way – is to help set free the entrepreneurial mind.
Melissa experimented first on herself: a few months ago Michael covered one of her most appreciated works on a beautifully decorated and unique prosthetic leg, she is also co-founder of Pianoverse, a place to play and enjoy music in New York City and she created the Lumecluster website and blog to further promote her design activities.
I had a chance to meet Melissa and see the masks up close on my recent visit to Shapeways’ Long Island City factory. She seemed like a very quiet and somewhat shy person, somewhat in contrast to the strength and powerful emotions her masks evoke, possibly yet another confirmation as to the masks efficacy.
Many of the models are available both as a full size wearable mask and as smaller decorative versions and even pendants. The basic face shape that Melissa began her modeling work from is her own, and each design begins with a handmade black and white sketch on paper. The intricacy of each design is used to produce effects such as eerie shadows created by outer and inner surfaces.
Every model is manufactured as a single piece and the cost is mainly dependent on the quantity of material used, with prices ranging from €20.00 for the smaller cultures to €175 for the powerfully disturbing, in a very artistic kind of way, Nightmare Mask.
