In the Western world, airbrushed photos of Miranda Kerr dictate what beauty is. In West Africa, the Mende people use intricately carved wooden masks to communicate female aesthetic ideals.

Ten of these so-called Sande masks are on view at the National Museum of African Art as part of a new exhibit, “Visions from the Forests: The Art of Liberia and Sierra Leone.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2014/04/23/visions-from-forests-museum-african-art/