Miya Turnbull’s exploration of vulnerability through the art of Origami and paper mache.
Fascinated by the ever-changing physical nature of the human face and Origami art, Miya Turnbull incorporates the structural into the artistic by creating masks portraying the myriad of human emotion. Mapping them out on her own face and photographing a series of them, Turnbull wants to create a series of images showcasing her own relationship with the ever changing appearance and exploring physical vulnerability.
Perfect: What is your earliest memory with art?
Miya Turnbull: I remember my parents letting me draw as big as I wanted to on the wall. Really it was a huge piece of masonite that my dad cut for us to do this. Looking back on it now, it seems so symbolic that they gave me and my brothers such freedom to express ourselves creatively without having to hold back. I also remember making Origami with my mom, which has recently re-entered into my art practise as an extension of my masks. I used to draw people and faces a lot, which also seems pretty significant now looking back on this, considering the work I am doing now.
Perfect: What lead you to develop the style and technique to your craft? How would you describe these?
Miya Turnbull: I've always been fascinated with masks and puppetry. In University I studied a variety of interests- sculpture, photography, painting, as well as anthropology, biology and psychology. I took a mask making class through the drama department and learned the basic techniques of casting my face and making masks using papier-mâché. Later on, when I had an independent art studio class, I was free to explore and make anything I wanted, and all these things just suddenly came together. I started making masks on my own and it wasn't long before I began experimenting with photo collage on the surface as the final layer for the face. After my degree, I started building a body of work with these "Photo-Masks" specifically as self-portraits, making variation after variation.
Perfect: From inspiration to construction, what is the process to creating one of your signature masks?
Miya Turnbull: I build layers of papier-mâché on top of a plaster mold of my face, so that the masks always resemble and fit me. Sometimes I change the structure but usually I use my basic form. If I try something, whether it is mis-aligning some of my facial features with the photo collage, erasing or adding on, and it makes me gasp or cringe- then I know I'm onto something worth exploring deeper. This usually leads to a new series of variations. Sometimes I cut up the masks and re-attach them together in different ways. Once in a while, I get a solid image of a mask in my head and then set out to make it. Usually I'm inspired by the materials I'm working with, or while wearing the mask in performance, I will see something worth exploring and will make new masks for that.
Perfect: What is your favourite type of project to work on?
Miya Turnbull: I have been so fortunate to receive several Creation Grants through provincial funding (Arts Nova Scotia) and federally (Canada Council for the Arts) for which I am grateful. My first project was to make new masks that were self-portrait based, which kick-started this body of work. Then it was to try the technique on top of doll faces, then it was to include the concave space of the masks as a way to represent an inner world vs an outer persona. The masks started to became more sculptural, and I also began using photography, video and projections in conjunction with wearing the masks. So each time I get a grant, I am given this amazing freedom to continue building my body of work and to expand my ideas each time with financial support. These projects have been the most rewarding; these grants have provided me with such a huge opportunity to really dig deeper into my practise for months at a time.
Perfect: Which have been some of your most personal pieces or projects to date?
Miya Turnbull: I usually photograph myself wearing my masks as head shots, but lately I've been pushing myself to show my full body. My newest series involves full bodied, performative pieces and these feel so personal to make and to display. I wear and manipulate the fabric of 'nude' spandex body suits, which I call 'skin' suits, in front of the camera. Even though I'm partially 'masking' myself with a second body suit, I find this extremely vulnerable. But I think adding in performance and movement to my masks is how I'll evolve and grow my work. So even though I find it really challenging, this feels like the next step for me.
Perfect: What is it you enjoy most about your craft?
Miya Turnbull: I love how rewarding the process is, how engaging the end results are and how much the masks can represent. We are so attracted to faces in general, programmed right from birth. When people see my masks, there is usually an immediate reaction because they sometimes have such an uncanny quality to them- realistic looking but not quite. I absolutely love the transformative quality when I wear the masks, and they reveal as much as they conceal. The investigation and examination part of it is important to me- I feel there is so much to explore and discover with new potential variations of self-portraits, which is really exciting. Because I work with the image of my face repeatedly, and all these variations and layers, I am attempting to continuously hone in on the transitory nature of identity. I can expose and embody something previously invisible or hidden within myself. And I hope everyone can relate to it too.
