MASK, (n.):

1. A covering worn on or held in front of the face for disguise

2. A protective layer either against noise, sickness, wind, sun and the public

3. A semi-transparent filter used to adjust color and tonal values, as well as to abstract various light layers.

SURFACE, (n.):

1. Multi-layered levels that cover other surfaces.

2. A surface is a layer whose thinness allows it to be translucent, thereby separating and connecting what lies behind it.

"...learned to see the beauties to be found in the shades of shadows, and to cultivate the shade for their aesthetic pleasure." - Jun'ichiro Tanizaki (1886-1965)

"Edo's distinctiveness derives from the city's relationship to its natural environment. Japanese urban spaces have been organized within an intimate relationship to nature and the topography." - Tokyo: A spatial anthropology - Hidenobu Jinnai, 1995

"One may be in the midst of a city, yet feel as if he were in the forest far away from the dust and din of civilisation."

"The ideal abode was unprepossessing, humble, and well harmonized with its natural setting."