WOODWORK > Carving

Balinese Barong mask

Performance and sacred masks play an integral role in Bali’s cultural and religious ceremonies and rituals. Traditional mask makers in Bali use wood from Pule, a large tree considered sacred in Bali, with light and soft whitish wood. Masks made from that wood are thought to have sacred properties and energies.

This mask is a copy of a female smiling face used as a dancing mask in a Balinese Barong performance. I carved it from a piece of Pule wood under the guidance of renowned Balinese master carver Ida Bagus Anom when I attended a mask-carving workshop with him in the Balinese village of Mas in the summer of 2010.