These days when someone mentions a face mask people’s first thoughts are of a protective face covering. While that would be an accurate description of the term, a Japanese man is bringing a whole new meaning with the sale of his hyper-realistic face masks.
The masks, which will be available for purchase though the artist’s Tokyo shop, Kamenya Omote, are 3-D printed coverings made from real-life photos, allowing the purchaser to obtain a frozen in time mask of themselves or whoever else they choose to look like.
The masks do have nose holes, though, which will not make them effective in protecting against the novel coronavirus, but nonetheless the maker, Shuhei Okawara, believes that the masks will be a hit.
“As is often the case with the customers of my shop, there are not so many people who buy (face masks) for specific purposes. Most see them as art pieces,’ Okawara said, according to The Daily Mail.
The publication adds that Okawara has replicated his own face, as well as, chosen others from over 100 photo applications and plans to compensate those whose faces prove to be popular.
As for what inspired him to make these masks in the first place, it seems he noticed a hole in the market.
“Mask shops in Venice probably do not buy or sell faces. But that is something that’s likely to happen in fantasy stories,” he said. “I thought it would be fun to actually do that.”