In the 1990s, the Iraqi regime employed a disturbing form of punishment for the national football team: when the players lost international matches, they were forced to wear iron masks as a penalty for their perceived failure. The act weaponized humiliation, turning the athletes’ faces into symbols of fear and control.
In The Reward, I recreate these punitive masks in Pyrex glass. The transformation from iron to glass shifts their material identity—from something heavy and oppressive to something fragile, transparent, and easily broken. Yet despite this vulnerability, the glass masks retain the haunting psychological weight of the originals. Their delicacy underscores how fear can persist long after the mechanisms of power have changed, lingering in memory, culture, and the body itself.
Views of mask sculptures
Installation view
Details:
- Five Pyrex-glass sculptures
- Dim.: var.
- C. by: Berengo Art Space, Morano, IT