We wear masks for many reasons: for fun, for protection, or to make a statement. In turbulent public settings, obscuring one’s face can protect an individual from retaliation while evoking fear and uncertainty in others. Donning the masks of cultural, political, or religious figures can ridicule them, or lend them power and further their legacy. Those who wear masks to protect their face from environmental hazards might also end up sending a message of caution to observers. In many cases, though, masks play a more lighthearted role, allowing the wearer to take part in a festival and become someone (or something) else for a time. Once again, I’ve gathered here a few recent images of people wearing masks, covering their face for a wide variety of reasons.
The Masks We Wear
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Read moreA model, wearing a mask designed by the artist Dan Schaub, presents a creation by designer Manish Arora during the Fall-Winter 2019/2020 Ready-to-Wear Collection fashion show in Paris, France, on February 28, 2019. #
Christophe Archambault / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreSouth Korean military conscripts wear face masks to protect themselves against a wave of fine dust that hit the Korean peninsula, during their entrance ceremony at the army training center in Nonsan on January 14, 2019. #
Jung Yeon-Je / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreJoel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers puts on his protective face mask prior to Game One of the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Miami Heat at the Wells Fargo Center on April 14, 2018, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. #
Mitchell Leff / Getty -
Read moreTrainee noncommissioned officers and members of the Underwater Offense, a special-operation unit of the Turkish navy, are seen during military training in the Beykoz district of Istanbul, Turkey, on September 18, 2018. #
Erhan Sevenler / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreAn employee poses with a feathered helmet mask, called "Mwaash aMbooy mu shall," from the Kuba people, Democratic Republic of Congo, 19th century, during a press preview at Summers Place Auctions on May 30, 2018, in Billingshurst, England. #
Jack Taylor / Getty -
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Read moreNigerian police wearing gas masks monitor an area where All Progressives Congress Party (APC) supporters celebrate initial results released by the Nigerian Independent National Electoral Commission in Kano, on February 25, 2019, two days after general elections. #
Luis Tato / AFP / Getty -
Read moreA cameraman wears a wrestling mask during the match between Sloane Stephens of the United States and Pauline Parmentier of France as part of day two of the Telcel Mexican Open 2019 at Mextenis Stadium in Acapulco, Mexico, on February 26, 2019. #
Hector Vivas / Getty -
Read morePlayers of Puebla pose for the team photo wearing Day of the Dead masks prior to the 15th-round match between Puebla and Chivas as part of the Torneo Apertura 2018 Liga MX, at Cuauhtemoc Stadium in Puebla, Mexico, on November 2, 2018. #
Pedro Mera / Getty -
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Read moreLando Griffin, a.k.a. "The Suited Racer," attends the Yajun show during New York Fashion Week: The Shows at Gallery II at Spring Studios on September 10, 2018, in New York City. #
Dia Dipasupil / Getty for NYFW: The Shows -
Read moreStudents wear virtual-reality goggles during a science class at Pyongyang Teachers' University, a teacher training college, in Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 14, 2018. #
Dita Alangkara / AP -
Read moreChildren hold masks with the face of the fictional character Greg Heffley during a visit by the American cartoonist Jeff Kinney in Oslo, Norway, on November 29, 2018. #
Ole Berg-Rusten / Norsk Telegrambyra AS / Reuters -
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Read moreA model presents a creation during the Xander Zhou catwalk show on the second day of the Autumn/Winter 2019 London Fashion Week Men's fashion event on January 6, 2019. #
Niklas Halle'N / AFP / Getty -
Read moreA man disguised as a demon plays within a flock of sheep before receiving a priest's benediction during the Beneides ("benedictions" in the Majorcan language) traditional ceremony of blessing animals that marks the day of San Anton (Saint Anthony), the animals' patron saint, in Muro, on the Spanish Balearic island of Majorca, on January 17, 2019. #
Jaime Reina / AFP / Getty -
Read moreThe car of the Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg of Germany is reflected in a fireman's helmet visor during the first practice session for the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack on May 24, 2018. #
Claude Paris / AP -
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Read moreJay Ajayi of the Philadelphia Eagles warms up before the game while wearing a training mask at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 6, 2018. #
Brett Carlsen / Getty
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