In The Mask I Wore, Makda Kibour presents a series of layered portraits that explore identity, memory, and self-inquiry. Working with acrylic, collage, African textiles, and stitched canvas, Kibour creates surfaces where faces emerge, fragment, and reassemble, suggesting identity as something fluid rather than fixed.

Several works incorporate physical processes of cutting, stitching, scraping, and layering. In some paintings, the canvas itself is cut apart and sewn back together, allowing the surface to carry the marks of rupture and repair. These material gestures mirror the emotional and psychological themes explored throughout the exhibition.

Moving between the personal and the collective, the paintings reflect how identity is shaped through ancestry, culture, and lived experience. Repeated figures and layered faces suggest the many selves that exist within a single life.

The Mask I Wore reflects a journey through memory, survival, and self-examination—acknowledging the masks once worn to navigate the world while arriving at a place of greater honesty and self-awareness.