Prologue

"To collide" isnât just an idea... itâs what is means to be alive.

Over days and weeks, Iâve spoken with many about The Masquerade. Some angry. Some disappointed they couldnât participate. Others just searching for where they fit. Through these conversations, through The Masquerade and Samâs focus on collision, Iâve come to a realisation... this is the role Iâve always played.

As a father, husband, son, Iâve spent my life supporting others, enabling their paths, creating moments of impact. Iâve found meaning not just in my own collisions, but in fostering them for others. This extension of my observation is my way of embracing that.

I am as much a conduit for collision as I am one who collides. And I will continue to lean into that. Encouraging, creating, and amplifying the moments where we meet and shape one another.

An Ode to Collision is an acknowledgment... of my own collisions and of the opportunities I create for others to rub against The Masquerade.

Manifesto

#614 (Position: Character lying in the muck under Luci and family)

I gaze upon a family sweet

From Fallenâs repose

Pursuit of folly

Over family I chose

Jarred from this conscious slumber

Tripped pursuing accolades

And stacking numbers

What have I done?

What have I missed? Sacrificed my youth for this

Attentionâs game

A loud refrain

Drown out potential offspring slain

Now a future past

A future lost

Pondered softly in the moss

Left alone with my own affliction

My mistake, my decision

A blunder by my own admission

Full surrender to this position

Making peace with whatâs left in pieces

Unfolded paper but still it creasesâ¦

Moments pass the feeling eases

Still these lines will linger

Discernible ridge beneath my finger

Fold again a different way

Try and salvage my end of days

#615

The central focus of the image should be the unmasked family unit.

Upon further inspection, the Mask held above them causes one to reflect on what the newborn will hide behind as they grow.

#616

How the two main characters are completely oblivious to anyone but themselves while the rest of the chaos around them is in progress.

If you find your person, nothing else around you exists.

#617

To me, masquerade balls have long been symbols of mystery, transformation, and hidden truths.

The sietch gatherings in Duneâhidden beneath the desert, filled with ritual and secrecyâmirror the way The Masquerade reveals its layers over time, accessible only to those who truly engage.

Similarly, the underground, cave-like rave in The Matrix Reloaded embodies a raw, primal energy beneath a world of control, much like Sprattâs collectors peeling away the surface of his work to discover deeper meaning.

The masked ball in Eyes Wide Shut, drenched in opulence and secrecy, evokes the same sense of elite participation and hidden knowledge that The Masquerade cultivates. Each of these settings, like Sprattâs artwork, transforms a party into something moreâa ritual of revelation where masks are worn, but truth is ultimately uncovered.

#618

The masks begin to crack and fade, As euphoria meets despairâs parade.

The centre's warmth, now cold and far, A spiral dance around the star.

The forest weeps, the music fades, Yet still they dance, in twisted shades.

For joy was once the brightest spark. Now lost within the forest dark.

#619

The remarkable calmness within the chaos of the scene. A sense of unboundedness & celebration.

#620

Nuance.

Nuance in the shading, the characters, the masks, the background, and the forest scene.

Nuance is everywhere in the Masquerade and in life, but is easily missed at first glance.

Nuance can turn a view from joy to despair, from fear to love, and drives our perception of the world.

In these days we often miss nuance shouting at each other online, and this work reminds that the beauty, complexity, and vibrancy of life lies in the little details, the nuances..

#621

When I watched Sam's new thing, it just hit me in the gut.

Every single piece of the video and production was so perfectly put together - you could just feel how badly he wants this.

The way he had cameras catching him from every possible angle, like he couldn't bear to miss a single moment.

Even down to his hair - you know he got it cut just for this. And the music, the shots, how it was all edited together... it's like watching someone build a monument to their own dreams.

But here's what gets me: there's something kind of heartbreaking about watching someone want something this badly.

Sam's out there building this massive ladder, right? Putting it together piece by piece, thinking if he just makes it tall enough, he'll finally reach whatever he's reaching for. But he doesn't see that he's trying to plant this ladder in the middle of an ocean.

#622 (Position: Character climbing tree trunk just above sign that reads "EXIT" in Luciscript)

Hidden amid nature's serene, I still have much yet to glean

Clothes I don guide through lives once deprived

Resurrecting souls and dreams long left behind

Characters play amid the courts, but I wonder if I might distort

What are these interests? What is this disease?

Must I have to appease?

Then a kindred soul fills the void with lore so pure

Igniting a flame destined to endure

I ascend high branches where sublime visions allure

Lifting me towards realms both timeless and sure

To conclude:

Collisions cannot be forcedâ¦ only invited. For those who turned away, the ripple remains, waiting for the moment they choose to meet it.

Each flower below is a silent marker of an invitation declined. A space where a collision could have been, but wasnât. Yet even in absence, they remain. Ready for the moment when paths cross again.

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