An essential emblem of African art since the end of the 19th century, Punu masks were one of the first to be celebrated by modernists. The ‘Okuyi’/‘Mukudji’ mask was worn during acrobatic dances, performed by men belonging to a secret society called ‘Mwiri’. The beauty of these masks is an echo, a hymn, a resonance of the power and importance of women in the social organisation of the Punu. The mask is powdered with kaolin, the white that traditionally covers women’s bodies during ceremonies.

See: Louis Perrois and Charlotte Grand-Dufay, Visions of Africa. Punu, 5 Continents Editions, 200