prosopagnosia
pros·o·pag·no·sia (prŏs'ə-pāg-nō'zhə, -zē-ə)
An inability or difficulty in recognizing familiar faces; it may be congenital or result from injury or disease of the brain.
I taught myself to memorise faces diagramatically like beautiful wireframe sculptures...the tilt of a chin, the meeting of lips, the curve of eyelashes sweeping a blink, the angles of hairline-browbone-cheekbone-jaw.
My own reflection, a formula wrapped in dysmorphia, painted on canvas scrolls and carved into stone. The mirror is a biblical master, a vengeful god. But a photograph, a portrait, is hearing my name whispered in a language that was excised from my mind by a quiet stranger who follows me, always arms-length behind.