THE MASKS WE WEAR
WRITTEN BY AIDAN ROOT
CLOTHING BY BLAMO
The masks we wear bridge our humanness to a world unseen, unheard, and lurking in the beyond. As a portal, a mask can explore a connection to new ways of being. A hint of possibility peeking through, yet not fully manifest. BLAMO, under Spencer Hansen and Shayne Marateaʼs ingenious spirits, offers a world of craft garments and mischievous toys to personify these discoveries of disguise with thoughtful threads. Welcome to a whimsical world where ideas of identity and being are yours to explore.
Photos: Spencer Hansen© / Styled by: Naomi Samara / Location: Papuan, Bali
RITUAL
Surreal, dreamlike, hallucinatory, and beautiful—BLAMO clothing imbues fabrics with otherworldly personalities rooted in humanistic elements. Satisfy and entrance your childlike wonder: seek the unseen beside BLAMO.
FLUX
BLAMO believes change is the only constant; like a slow tide rolling over soft rocks, ready yourself for a rising sea. Shielded by BLAMO’s soul-centering artistry, embrace the love that finds its way to shore as released inhibitions bring you closer to yourself.
Photo: Spencer Hansen©
UNMASKING THE PAST
Dating back 9,000 years, this eerie carved human face found in the Judean Desert belongs to a rare group of the earliest stone masks ever created. It’s suspected that they were made to resemble the spirits of dead ancestors, connecting with souls beyond our realm.
Mask history runs parallel to the human timeline. Found alongside the birth of agriculture and the abandonment of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, stone masks represent a critical discovery of self, others, and quite possibly even the meaning of life. Mask traditions come to life when humans trust their ingenuity and embark on a journey of self-expression.
It’s thought that these masks were used by ancient cultures in a funerary context to represent the features of the deceased and establish a relationship with the spirit world to protect the departing soul and frighten away malevolent spirits.
Masks will always hold a light to the darkness around us.
PRIMAL
Explore what makes you, you. It’s natural to camouflage our flaws, quirks, fears, and cautions. Yet draped provocatively in BLAMO, you’ll find yourself transported—free from the pressures of conformity. Welcome the carefree, color-outside-the-lines perspective to keep your soul fresh and flexible.
Photos: Spencer Hansen© / Styled by (opposite page): Naomi Samara / Location (this page): Great Salt Lake, Utah
MISCHIEVOUS
Embrace the inner miscreant that begs you to question everything. Intertwine your thoughts with the contagious rogue-mentality that BLAMO curated for dreamers and explorers like you. Trust nature’s current and do what you can to make sense of the non-sense.
Photo: Spencer Hansen© / Model: Ko Lim and Shayne Maratea / Location: Sumba, Indonesia
COVETED OBJECTS
Spencer Hansen spent the last year making New Friends , an eclectic collection of materials assembled to create a multi-dimensional interspecies cast of characters. A palette of repurposed materials fused with an intentional expression of duality; soft fur with hammered brass and ridged textures meet delicate ceramic, as an expression of emotion. The collection invites us into an unknown yet familiar world inhabited by wonderfully wobbly, wacky creatures.
BLAMO is a brand, an artist, a place where photography, street culture, music, and passion combine to create something truly unique. A world that cultivates only the best of our playful creativity and curiosity, and cries a symphony of inspiration to those searching for meaning in this chaotically unpredictable world. BLAMO urges you to befriend this reality and find solid ground among the stars. Blamo.store
