A mask is not ostensibly what it depicts but what it transforms and therefore avoids depiction. Like a myth the mask conceals at least as much as it shows. Claude Levi-Strauss The portraits challenge us to take a stance within the contradictions they contain. Resting between the past and the present. There is a child-like appearance and the hidden pool of knowledge gained through adulthood. What do we really see? What is real, what is imagined and what is suggested?The contrast between the childlike faces and figures and the artificial masks creates images which amplify potential narratives. The children appear to be “in the know” about our world. They appear to be waiting while at the same time their gaze appears to be hiding a secret. The children´s faces are covered with masks which are replicas of historical masks from the 19th century. The photographs gain special appeal by contrasting the childlike youthfulness in the protagonist’s features with the insistent expression of the mask. Viewers might be absorbed into a world of severity, reflection and sorrow, enforced through the picture’s background. This background will be mostly landscapes and sometimes patterns upon the children’s clothes, integrated into the photographs through digital editing. Each detail is carefully considered and chosen according to the prevailing mood in the picture. The German title “Larven” (larvae) adds to the ambiguity as in the German language this is both an antiquated term for masks and for the developmental stage of an animal such as a butterfly. Having played an important social role in peoples’ lives until late in the 19th century, the culture and art of masking has completely disappeared. This may explain the mysterious, passively accusing air which surrounds the masked children’s faces and which, for the observer is fascinating as much as it is alienating. This evokes fear of the Unknown, the Concealed and the Inscrutable, the underlying threat which is tangible despite the intrinsic innocence of the situation. The portraits of children are enthralling but also disconnected from reality. It is difficult not to be absorbed by them. The masked children with their severe faces are sadly accusive, unrelentlessly questioning, disconnected as if they had already glimpsed the end of the world. In the photographs real children are transformed into picture protagonists in a space full of unspoken wishes, fears and dreams. Each portrait fathoms the psychology between myself and the child models and challenges the viewer: what do the protagonists betray about themselves? What can be interpreted from gestures and what from the clothes worn? What idea of man transcends from the pictures and what do the masks reveal about the models? The cover of an assumed identity such as a pseudonym is also an act of masking. This subject is fascinating as in today’s virtual world everyone can create a new (virtual) identity. Under these circumstances one could ask whether in this day and age a portrait can still be created or if the truth lies in the mask/alias?