Self-Portrait

Using drawing as a medium of exploration, i intend to construct a self-portrait that goes beyond the idea of a singular frame. But rather a complex multitude of my being including the obvious and the not so obvious.  I chose to create a self-portrait in this manner as a  means to construct an open narrative that reflects on the interconnectedness and layers of a person's identity beyond the body. And in the process acknowledge a multitude of elements that is equally valid as one’s self-portrait other than just a representation of their physical being. In viewing one's image through this frame, It makes room for a nuanced conversation with regards to the Journey in arriving at our present self (Now). Using drawing/sketching as a literal/visual means,  I want to zoom in and out of some tangible and intangible aspects of my everyday life that makes me who I am. Whether it being my name, lineage, religion, Passion, hobbies, aspirations, skillset, experiences, spaces I occupy or have occupied and many more. For example, I even consider the visual language I chose to execute my project as part of my self-portrait. That’s why i intentionally chose to draw rather than using any other creative medium. I also  used something as simple as a drawing to illustrate the complexity within the idea of a self-portrait because contradictions, connections and tension within ideas excite me. Since am pulling from different aspects of my life to create this layered composition, I chose to use a grayscale colour scheme as a visual tool to unify all aspects of the composition together.

Currently, in my studio practice as an Artist, I have been engaging my past as a conscious effort to reset and evaluate my creative journey over the years. I have been doing so through the drawing/Painting of childhood family photographs from my family's photo album. Similarly, in this drawing, I juxtaposed a drawing of a younger me from my family album against a physical representation myself now as a direct reference to what I have been doing in the studio. 

Referencing from Judith Howard's article, I believe myself portrait should be an intersection/interconnectedness of several factors that make me or something that has a direct or indirect connection to my present self.  Hence, in this drawing, I took the liberty to highlight a few of them.  A sketch of my mother, fragment of my room, Symbols/aphorism, my favourite shoe and animal, maps and some easter eggs I want the viewer to figure out by him/herself.

The orientation of the drawing is intentionally set vertically to force the viewer to patiently figure out what they are looking at. Thus, there is more to what we see at a glance, so a second look is always important.