Self-portrait

When it came down to making my “self-portrait” I kind of struggled with how I wanted to do it, at first I considered actually painting something. But because of the whole situation going on right now I couldn’t get ahold of canvas within a reasonable time, because of that I thought of maybe doing a digital painting but that just didn’t appeal to me as much. So I eventually landed on the idea of using photoshop to edit a photo that had a somewhat personal message in it. I know that just by looking at the picture within the design it may come off as dark or depressing and the reason for that ties back to the situation in the world with the self-isolation and all the pain and misery that so many are going through. To explain the significance of the match flame and what it means to me I suppose I would have to explain one of the tattoos on my forearm. I know it’s a fairly small tattoo, and to most people, it would just look like any ordinary flash sheet design but to me, it’s more than that. When I got this tattoo it was tied in with a toy drive that my tattoo shop was holding to bring toys to children whose families didn’t have the money to spend on Christmas. I can see where it doesn’t quite line up about how they relate, but for me, the match is a symbol that represents a small light and a reminder that even when everything may seem dark and depressing you have to remember that there will always be a light at the other end. No matter how small or distant it may seem. So jumping back to my self-portrait, my idea was to represent the situation concerning the virus and how many people feel lost at the moment. Just from talking to friends and loved ones as well as reflecting on my own feelings, it’s fairly easy to say that most people aren’t exactly having the time of their lives with whats happening. I’ve been fortunate enough to not have anyone I personally know have to deal with the virus and while being stuck alone most days right now definitely sucks, I know people have it worse. This is reflected through the darker color tone and the type that I chose to use near the top of the design. Near the bottom of my design, I call back the concept of a small light to bring hope by layering a city sunrise behind more motivational and endearing word choices. To relate it back to the class I can't specify one single moment from any of the readings, but I suppose the closest I can think of actually comes from the power of ten videos that we watched twice now. By that, I would say the video brings up the idea of a single person in a sea of many. On a normal day just a few months ago anyone of us would encounter an immeasurable number of people, even if we didn't directly interact with any of them, they were still there. But now with everything going on were lucky to see a handful of people, to me this shows the two extremes, the outer limit being the normal everyday lives that we've been temporarily stripped of and the micro of self-isolation. Now, going back to the personal aspect of my project, I would say that everybody needs to find their “match” that gives them hope and the determination to get through this. For me that has to be my girlfriend, not being able to see her for almost 2 months has been the hardest part of all of this. But my admiration and respect for what she’s doing have no end. She’s a nurse currently working in a nursing home for patients that are recovering from the virus.  For me, knowing that this will eventually pass and we'll be able to see each other from closer than 10ft again is the light at the end of my tunnel.