Photographer Mike Sullivan, who was recently in India, uses his masks to explore the performative nature of identity

The process of mask making started out very impulsively for Mike. And very soon it became an extension of himself, and a way to communicate with the world

Shards of mirrors, feathers, jewels, delicate leaves and flowers. These are the objects American artist and photographer Mike Sullivan, 28, uses to tell his stories, with the help of the masks and headpieces he fashions.

To Mike, these are not just objects of beauty, but a safe space for the wearer. “People are incredibly vulnerable when we are creating an image together. Masks and crowns help them feel an inner sense of liberation and self worth,” he says. Mike visited India at the start of the year, and the three weeks he spent between Kerala, Goa and Karnataka became an impromptu creative residency.

He explored local flower markets, jewellery shops and collaborated with artists along the way, including Goa-based photographer Pretika Menon. “I created far more than I expected and am extremely grateful for how open people were,” he says.

It was his training in theatre in Ithaca College, New York, followed by a semester at Ithaca College London Center, that led him to grow deeply interested in mask making. “For a Shakespeare/Grecian section of the semester, we had to create and perform in our own masks, which was the first leg in my journey as a mask maker.”

London became his playground to experiment with his queer identity and gender expression. “I was of legal age to enter queer spaces for the first time, and the first mask I made and wore out in public was in London. I was meeting people from the community, wearing heels, playing with make-up, experimenting with drag culture. Drag is a means for people to express themselves, and a crown can be another tool to help bring a person to that place of free expression.”

The process of mask making started out very impulsively for Mike. And very soon it became an extension of himself, and a way to communicate with the world around him .

Nature has always been a leitmotif in Mike’s often fragile pieces, having grown up by the riverside, with marshes and woods all around. “I grew up hiking with friends, foraging for wasp nests and making monster faces with dead flowers and crab legs.”