Double Self-Portrait
23x28 inch
photo transfer and oil on canvas
2022
Self-portraits are usually drawn to observe and understand who we were at one moment in time. In that spirit, I drew a self-portrait to look back on myself and remember who I was a year ago. While the two figures in this portrait may look similar, the poses that I take express something deeper about myself. For instance, on the left, I am confident and able to look directly into the eyes of the viewer, while, on the right, I struggle to maintain that same eye contact. Events such as a global pandemic or wars, often leave people with profound emotional scars that cannot be seen from the shells that we hide ourselves in; Yet, through subtle cues in body language, sometimes we cannot help but reveal our internal struggles. While the individuals may share the same clothes, jewelry, and even hair color, I wanted to explore the idea that despite not physically growing or changing, people are often turning into something other than themselves through time and experiences.