Planning Adornment 2 - Bhootham

After I had envisioned Bhootam as my adornment as shared in my previous blog post, I started to create a visual image of this character. My adornment with Bhootham (Poltergeist) is empathy. But as I begin to conceptualize this mask, I decide to stay true to the worldly understanding of Bhootham - a fierce large creature who can evoke fear, who can play games with the mind, who can seduce the other, who looks untrustworthy and flighty. It is through the actions and experience in a performance that the empathy and affinity of this persona will be revealed.

Even though I had decided to explore the empathetic nature of this mask during the performance, I felt the need to visually symbolise through subtle hints, the serenity, and affinity of this persona. Looking back now, I wonder if I did this more for myself than for the spectator. This was an act to reaffirm what I adorning, it was telling myself that this is the Bhootham of empathy!




The process of drawing, making and envisioning my adornments was a journey into the labyrinths of my mind. Picking out what colours meant to me, identifying shapes and sizes that could convey meaning, thinking beyond word, identifying structure and form, etc.

In this process of making, I was infusing into the mask, my being, thoughts, and emotions. I was preparing my body to receive this character. This process of making was the first step in infusing life into my adornments. I was filling my body with the images, qualities and forces I will adorn.