Mask Surgery is an experimental performance-installation directed by Yi Tang under the artistic direction of Pete Brooks, exploring how identity is shaped through reflection, perception, and social interaction. Combining installation art with participatory performance, the project invites audiences to move beyond passive observation and become active participants within the work.
Inspired by Jacques Lacan’s theory of the “mirror stage,” the installation examines how the self is constructed through external gazes and social recognition. Tang transforms this psychoanalytic concept into a physical and immersive environment, where visitors encounter fragmented reflections of themselves and others.
At the centre of the installation stands a monumental “eye” structure built from convex mirrors and masks. The reflective surfaces distort and multiply the viewer’s image, creating a scenographic metaphor for surveillance, self-awareness, and the unstable nature of identity.
Audience participation forms the core of the experience. Visitors are invited to assume the role of “surgeons,” selecting blank masks and undertaking a three-minute transformation process governed by a strict set of “surgical rules.” Completed masks represent attempts to assert individuality, while abandoned ones are categorised as “medical waste,” forming a striking visual contrast between conformity and self-expression.
Through this participatory structure, Tang dissolves the traditional boundary between performer and audience. Participants become co-creators of meaning, confronting the tension between personal identity and social expectation.
Engaging more than fifty participants from diverse international backgrounds, Mask Surgery demonstrates Yi Tang’s ability to combine theoretical depth with immersive performance practice. Under the artistic direction of Pete Brooks, the project reflects a bold interdisciplinary approach that merges conceptual art, scenography, and participatory theatre.
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