Self Portrait

  Mute 

Too often we are silenced by others opinions 

Yet we speak without words 

Racing to be something or somebody 

While time is constantly choking at our success 

Intuition is now second nature 

As we thrive off the approval of strangers 

We become the very thing we despised 

           The subject of my image is me and how I express myself in today's growing society. Also how factors in society have shaped me. This drawing is meant to show how I am placed in society. It's evident that I don't like to speak much explaining the red X on my mouth. Social media plays a big part in letting me have an alternate way of getting my voice out without actually speaking. So I I cooperated it into my Afro. It seems as though I'm always racing against time, racing to complete something or start something. Time is preventing me from being successful and achieving certain goals. I do not have eyes because I believe you don't have to actually see to see the truth in things if they makes sense. The third eye is to represent intution, which I have a great sense of. 

          I usually draw with pencil but I wanted to set out of my comfort zone and make my image pop so I used makers. I cut out holographic paper to give certain things a glow. I wouldn't say it's a collage because of the cut out paper so I'll just say it's a regular drawing. When I came up with the image I had  Barbara Kruger in mind. How she put blocks and then writings in her blocks over top of other images. The words usuallyhavr a message explaining the image. I sort of did the same thing with the red X just without the words. 

          To the audience they might read it as a girl who doesn't speak but has other outlets of speaking or getting her voice out. In this self portrait I actually I cooperated a face last time it was just a body. The meanings were similar but different. It all ties together with me doing a body first then a head. I normally do faces so I really wanted to show that in this project but with different elements. Reading Kara Walker I really found a way to abstractly express my identity like she does. She was another artist that helped me creat this project. I believe this time my message was clearer and powerful. This image really shows my true identity.