Eye Lace

Artist: Dennis Khalil

Year: 2019

A black and white portrait featuring a woman with decorative face art. A black and white image of a woman showcasing intricate face art on her forehead and around her eyes, captured in a studio setting.

A black and white portrait featuring a woman with decorative face art.
A black and white image of a woman showcasing intricate face art on her forehead and around her eyes, captured in a studio setting.
A black and white portrait of a woman featuring detailed face art. A monochrome portrait of a woman with elaborate face art, her arms raised and hair cascading down, emphasizing her profile.

A black and white portrait of a woman featuring detailed face art.
A monochrome portrait of a woman with elaborate face art, her arms raised and hair cascading down, emphasizing her profile.
A woman showcasing intricate face paint in a monochrome setting. A monochrome image of a woman with detailed face paint on her left side, posing with her arms raised.

A woman showcasing intricate face paint in a monochrome setting.
A monochrome image of a woman with detailed face paint on her left side, posing with her arms raised.
A model showcasing a white lace eye mask with detailed patterns. Profile view of a model wearing a white lace eye mask featuring intricate and artistic designs.

A model showcasing a white lace eye mask with detailed patterns.
Profile view of a model wearing a white lace eye mask featuring intricate and artistic designs.
A woman in a black and white portrait wearing a decorative mask. A black and white portrait of a woman with long hair, wearing a decorative mask and holding her hair up. The focus is on her facial expression.

A woman in a black and white portrait wearing a decorative mask.
A black and white portrait of a woman with long hair, wearing a decorative mask and holding her hair up. The focus is on her facial expression.
A woman poses with a decorative lace mask covering part of her face. A woman with long hair poses in profile, wearing a decorative lace mask that covers her eyes and part of her face.

A woman poses with a decorative lace mask covering part of her face.
A woman with long hair poses in profile, wearing a decorative lace mask that covers her eyes and part of her face.
A black and white portrait featuring a lace mask on the face. A black and white image of a person with a lace mask intricately designed to cover part of the face, emphasizing facial features.

A black and white portrait featuring a lace mask on the face.
A black and white image of a person with a lace mask intricately designed to cover part of the face, emphasizing facial features.
A black and white portrait featuring a lace mask. A monochrome portrait of an individual with a lace mask covering the eyes and forehead, emphasizing facial features.

A black and white portrait featuring a lace mask.
A monochrome portrait of an individual with a lace mask covering the eyes and forehead, emphasizing facial features.
With Niels Kiene aka Salventius I made these photographs. Salventius made these masks and wanted to see what was possible. I took the opportunity to show him my vision. art collaboration Eye Lace

With Niels Kiene aka Salventius I made these photographs. Salventius made these masks and wanted to see what was possible. I took the opportunity to show him my vision.
art collaboration Eye Lace
An intricate white lace eye mask design on a black background. A detailed white lace eye mask created from intertwined lines, set against a black background for contrast.

An intricate white lace eye mask design on a black background.
A detailed white lace eye mask created from intertwined lines, set against a black background for contrast.
Abstract line art featuring interconnected faces. A continuous line drawing of multiple faces arranged in an abstract style against a black background.

Abstract line art featuring interconnected faces.
A continuous line drawing of multiple faces arranged in an abstract style against a black background.

Artist’s Statement

This series was born from an encounter between two very different practices: the single-line lace work of artist Niels Kiene (Salventius) and Khalil’s approach to conceptual portraiture.

Salventius had created a series of intricate lace masks and wanted to see what they could become through a photographer’s lens. Khalil saw an opportunity — not merely to document the masks, but to use them as a point of entry into questions about identity, concealment, and revelation.

In the resulting images, the lace functions as both mask and second skin. It obscures. It accentuates. It draws attention to the structures of the face beneath it while simultaneously hiding them. The wearer is present and absent at once — revealed through the act of concealment.

It is a dialogue between craft and portraiture, between the object and the subject, between what is shown and what is withheld.

Credits

Lace Artwork: Niels Kiene (Salventius)

Model: Janna Handgraaf

Model: Floor van Kollenburg

Inquiries

For inquiries regarding the acquisition of works from this series, please contact the studio.

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