Biàn Liǎn; 'Face-Changing' an art of the ancient Chinese Sichuan Opera where dramatic artists with decorated masks and a quick shake of the head change their face. 

I had the privilege to photograph Bian Lian artist Zhao, performing a segment of a Chinese Sichuan Opera.

He looked into the lens.  With a breath and twist of his neck, his face changed. 

The decorated colored mask and expressions are hand made with great detail, each representing a character from the opera.

Each a work of art.

I captured the masks but not their essence. 

I used the funky-ness of photoshop “masks” along with B on the keyboard to create composites. 

One image combines the six masks onto the artists face.

These are the results.