Bust in a red balaclava

A sculptural bust in the viewer's mind is an extremely specific, portrait image of an individual, but in the work of Konstantin von Riben his face is hidden. A red balaclava mask made of glass beads dissolves the personal, turning the hero into a collective and anonymous sign. But the mask doesn't just hide the face, it's like a curved mirror crushing the image: each ball refracts the world, creating hundreds of incompatible reflections. The viewer cannot try it on — the self crumbles, losing its solidity. The work reflects our era: identity is no longer carved in stone, but assembled from fragile, mobile particles, like a kaleidoscope. We appear not as statues of the past, but as temporary, shimmering clusters without clear boundaries — "faceless busts in masks."