Philipp Hoelzgen

Scales on the Weather Side, 2025

24 October–28 November 2025, Periscope, Salzburg with Jurij Hartman
curated by Stefan Heinzinger

This project presents analogue face masks made of baryta paper, ranging in size from monumental wall-mounted pieces to smaller wearable objects. The starting point is the concept of the cosmetic face mask – a familiar item intended to protect, revitalise or improve the appearance of the skin. This ritual is translated into a tangible experience where paper becomes skin and shingles become ornamentation, with the mask functioning as an interface between body and environment.

The large masks take their dimensions and form from the Bocca della Verità in Italy – a circular face into which one would place a hand to tell the truth. This archetypal motif has been transferred onto baryta paper, fitted with eyelets and mounted on the wall. The mask thus becomes a fragile yet monumental interface between ritual, bodily experience and architectural space.

Smaller masks can be worn directly. They are tactile and almost skin-like; the baryta paper, coated with gelatin and light-sensitive silver salts, has a subtle texture reminiscent of living skin. The shingle patterns on the masks contrast with expectations of youth and smoothness. While cosmetic masks aim to preserve the appearance of youthful skin, the wooden shingles gain complexity, colour, and depth with age. Here, ageing is not concealed, but embraced.

The work oscillates between ritual, material aesthetics, and performative gesture. Masks are not only understood as protection or adornment, but also as interfaces that mediate perception and experience between body, object and space. This project transforms the everyday ritual of wearing face masks into material-aesthetic objects situated between skin, paper and truth