David Bowie's masks and face casts explored in V&A archive

The Victoria and Albert Museum has published an in-depth look at the David Bowie Archive's collection of masks, moulds, and face casts spanning Bowie's career from the late 1960s to 2013. Bowie's fascination with masks began with mime training under Lindsay Kemp in the late 1960s, leading to his first music video 'The Mask'. Japanese Kabuki and Noh theatre inspired his makeup, notably for the 1973 'Pin Ups' album cover with Twiggy. In 1974, special effects artist Bill Malone took a face mould for the 'Cracked Actor' documentary, producing silver plastic masks now lost. A 1982 mould by Dick Smith for 'The Hunger' created foam latex prosthetics. Bowie's 1995 art exhibition with Beezey Bailey featured silver resin masks, and in 1997 he collaborated with Tony Oursler on a music video mask. That same year, Erik Gosselin made a full body mould for the TV series 'The Hunger', producing gruesome props. For his 2013 NME cover, Bowie wore a flat silver mask. Artists Mark Wardel and William Forsche created masks from acquired moulds, some purchased by Bowie. The archive includes numerous life masks from various dates, including a 1974 mould with thin face and slightly open lips.