I carve questions into the face.
A Noh mask begins to speak in silence.
One looks. One is looked at.
In that exchange, something unnamed quietly comes into being.
Lilico Aso is a Noh mask artist
based in Tokyo.
Through the traditional art of mask-making,
she explores the question:
“What is a face?”
Her work moves between tradition and innovation,
silence and expression,
form and memory.
Noh Mask Artist | Scriptwriter | Contemporary Artist | Face Researcher
麻生りり子
◆Four Perspectives that Shape Expression and Inquiry
01｜What is a Face?
The Noh mask raises a question — what is a face?
Not a fixed surface, but a place where form, identity, and relation shift.
02｜Beyond Expression
Expression in Noh does not rely on emotion.
It lies in the absence of expression — in subtle tension, in gaze, in stillness.
03｜Tradition as Bridge to Creation
To copy is not to imitate.
Inheriting technique means reviving it — and letting it give birth to the new.
04｜Face as Place for Dialogue
A face is not an object. It is a site.
It becomes a shared space — for memory, presence, and communication.