While the topic of bath salts is not part of the exhibition “FACELESS part I” in Vienna, other forms of grotesque muglessness are. Inspired by the events of 9/11 and the rise of the Internet, curators Bogomir Doringer and Brigitte Felderer pulled together contemporary works that address notions of identity loss, self-seclusion, and masking.

Participating artists and designers include Marina Abramović, Gareth Pugh, Viktor & Rolf, Maison Martin Margiela, Slava Mogutin, Jun Takahashi for Undercover, and Katsuya Kamo for Junya Watanabe.

Says Felderer: “The grotesque faces the media bombards us with not only affect our sense of self, not only confront us with unequal reflections, but also ensnare us in excessive self-control. They have long since left marks that are indelibly engraved in the almighty web. Eternalized in the book of faces, we become findable, identifiable. Ultimately, all our projections and desires are revealed, and worse yet are divulged to entities of control both legal and secret. We emerge and can never disappear from view again.”

Which brings us to the second part of the exhibition. Currently, non-artists who want to “join the research” may upload their own faceless pics, some of which will be selected by Doringer and presented in “FACELESS part II,” opening September 27.

“FACELESS part I” (July 4 – September 1, 2013) and “FACELESS part II” (beginning September 27, 2013), Freiraum Quartier21 INTERNATIONAL, MuseumsQuartier, Vienna