We live in times of crises and failing economic systems. No wonder that questions of change are recurrent. Protest culture is having a revival.

Every revolution has its icons. Nowadays, we see the mask show up. Wearing a mask is a carnivalesque strategy. Carnival is a ritual, temporarily dismantling social and political regimes, suspending norms and values. But after this limited period of allowed disorder and change, the order is restored.

So the question arises: does the current wave of protests serve as an illusion of carnival? Or have we forgotten the function of carnival? Have we forgotten that the purpose of the ritual is to remember?

To Each His Own Mask is a challenging artistic documentary by filmmaker and visual artist Tine Guns, linked to her installation Perpetual Moment of Pause that was exhibited at Netwerk Aalst, LhGWR in The Hague and Ostrale in Dresden.