Pierre Huyghe’s Human Mask

Monkey trained to serve in a restaurant, wearing a mask of a human face, a wig, a girl’s clothes.

Artist places her in an abandoned restaurant in fukushima 2 years after the nuclear disaster. desolate, apocalyptic streets. not a soul in sight, sans the monkey.

she goes about her duties, serving drinks, cleaning, etc. though there’s no one in there. repetition, habit, training. Forced really to engage in such pointless activities for no good reason whatsoever.

the comments say it’s unsettling, just creepy, etc.

There’s a warm ache in my chest watching the monkey. I’m so moved, I’m so touched.

I wonder if they truly don’t recognize themselves at all in the monkey. Wearing a mask, forced to endlessly serve, perform and repeat their tasks for truly no meaning or purpose at the end of the day in a barren, desolate, nuclear wasteland environment.

Were I able to, I’d throw myself dramatically and sob for the poor girl.In the time it took to write this sentence, the aching warmth had already gone.

It’s cold again, and I’m in hell.

But for a moment there, for a moment in time, I was beautiful again.

Human Mask

https://youtu.be/QJR7HUhrL2s?si=EvABzEIO7F1nBOwV