From October 17 to 22, 2026, people attending ICANN87 in Bali can try on five digital masks in augmented reality. MASK — A Portal Between Identities is an AR exhibition presented by the .ART Registry, curated by .ART and powered by illust.
The idea
In Bali, masks are more than decoration. They belong to performance, ceremony, storytelling and spiritual practice. .ART started from that tradition and opened it up to artists everywhere, with an international open call that asked them to treat the mask as a “threshold object”: a tool for transformation, a keeper of memory, a ritual instrument and a portal between identities.
Five artists were selected. Each made a mask that visitors wear on their own face, in real time, right at the event.
How visitors try on the masks
- Scan the QR code next to a mask. The experience opens in the phone’s browser, with no app to download.
- Accept the user agreement and allow camera, motion and location access.
- Look into the selfie camera. The mask appears on your face in a second or two.
- Tap the button to take a photo, or hold it to record a video.
- Tap share to save it or post it.
The five masks
Flora Face 1
João Peixinho, Portugal. Monstera leaves, ferns, lotus and frangipani wrap around the face, inspired by Bali’s tropical landscape.
SYNAPTICA — A Portal Between Selves
Yuliya (YO_DESi) Ovcharyk, Ukrainian artist based in North Carolina. Treats identity as fluid, shaped by memory, perception, emotion and technology, drawing on digital fashion and speculative design.
Frenatus
Özlem Mehder, Turkey. A single hybrid character built from animal archetypes, pairing elegance with ferocity and left open to each viewer’s reading.
Crown Energizing Maskal Mate
LMDesigns8, United States. A wearable ritual object for renewing energy, combining an animated paint-pour mandala, crown chakra symbols and elements of the artist’s sound-bowl meditation practice. LMDesigns8 has also shown work in several Balanced Forces AR exhibitions built on illust.
Computational Theory of Mind
Claudia Tong, London. Joins biological forms with digital structures and asks whether technology brings us closer to nature or further from it.
Why face AR fits an event like this
- It is personal. Each visitor becomes part of the artwork instead of looking at it on a wall.
- It is shareable. Built-in photo and video capture turns every try-on into something people post.
- It works on any phone. No app and no headset, so a busy conference crowd can join in seconds.
Credits
- Presented by the .ART Registry (UK Creative Ideas Ltd)
- Curated by .ART
- Powered by illust
- Artists: João Peixinho, Yuliya (YO_DESi) Ovcharyk, Özlem Mehder, LMDesigns8 and Claudia Tong
See the exhibition on .ART’s site: art.art/mask.
Planning an exhibition or event?
Let your audience wear the art.
illust powers face, world and image-target AR that opens in any phone’s browser, with no app to download. Tell us about your show and we’ll help you plan it.
