Neri Oxman, an artist and theorist working with her Mediated Matter group at MIT Media Lab, has created 'The Vespers,' a series of death masks. the hypnotic, tactile masks were created with the help of Stratasys, a 3D printing company that works with cutting-edge designs.
Death masks are part of an ancient custom, where they were believed to strengthen the spirit of the deceased and guard their soul from evils as they approach the afterworld, according to Oxman. By using a process as notably modern as 3D printing, The Vespers is consciously combining old and new.
The Vespers consists of three instalments, the only currently released of which is called Present (Present is actually meant as the second instalment in the series, however.) It consists of five masks that represent different martyrs.
3D-Printed Death Masks
Neri Oxman's 'The Vespers' Revives an Ancient Mystic Practice
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