The year 2020 is to soon end but, unfortunately, the battle with coronavirus still continues with cases spiking on daily basis.
Fighting with the pandemic and welcoming the new year in high spirits a Japanese retailer, Shuhei Okawara has come up with an innovative idea of facial camouflage which compromises of a hyper-realistic mask that models a stranger’s features in three dimensions.
Though the 3D mask does not provide protection against the virus, it aims to provide the exact appearance of an unidentified Japanese adult whose features have been printed onto them.
Okawara stated that these masks are art pieces and are like fantasy masks “Mask shops in Venice probably do not buy or sell faces. But that is something that’s likely to happen in fantasy stories.”
It's not like buying faces is a hobby or anything, and I don't take my job seriously.
— Shuhei Okawara 大川原 脩平 (@shuhei_ookawara) December 18, 2020
The masks will go on sale early next year for 98,000 yen ($950) at his shop in Tokyo, Kamenya Omote. The business specializes in products that are popular as party accessories and theatrical performances.
Okawara chose his model, whom he paid 40,000 yen, from more than 100 applicants who sent him their photos when he launched the project in October. An artisan then reworked the winning image, created on a 3D printer.
“As is often the case with the customers of my shop, there are not so many people who buy (face masks) for specific purposes. Most see them as art pieces,” Okawara said. The market survey reveals that hype is anticipated regarding the 3D masks.
