Unmasked

Inside the image.

A monochrome photographic cover shows a man standing front-facing in the centre, visible from his head to his upper thighs. He wears a fitted black suit, a white shirt and a dark tie. His hands are tucked into his trouser pockets; his shoulders are relaxed, and his head turns slightly towards the viewer’s left. His expression is composed, with a faint smile. The figure fills most of the image’s height and stands out sharply against the pale background.

Behind him, a large, light-grey arch-like shape rises from near the bottom to beyond the top edge. Its curved inner sides frame his head and shoulders, while broad grey vertical forms sit near the left and right edges. The background is otherwise white. The arrangement is nearly symmetrical, though the man’s pose and the curves of the grey shapes make it feel gently irregular. The photograph fades or is cropped at the lower edge around his legs; there is no visible frame around the artwork.

The image uses black, white and several shades of grey, with strong contrast between the dark suit and the bright ground. Soft frontal lighting brings out the man’s face and the folds and seams of his jacket, while subtle shadows define the lapels, tie and pockets. The background shapes are flat and even in tone, unlike the photographic detail of the figure, giving the cover a simple, assembled graphic quality.

Tall, condensed uppercase lettering runs along the bottom edge. “UNMASKED” appears at the lower left and “JOHN OWEN-JONES” at the lower right, both in black and set over the white ground. The names sit on either side of the figure’s legs, close to the bottom margin; the right-hand inscription is longer and extends towards the edge.