For the paintings with the masks, I was inspired by the sadness I feel for games. These are memories of a life that was very poor. ... All the children were happy behind a mask; however I couldn't give them this happiness and so the mask seemed to be sad, meaning that behind that mask there was great sadness. Perhaps this was only an opportunity to realise the sadness that was inside me. That's how my masks came to be, often crouching on the beach, as if they were bent over their own sorrows. I think that's what it's about. I can't paint a happy mask, because I see suffering behind every mask.
(Mario Lupo - "Story of life, story of painting”)