The Constructed Self (2019-2021) explores themes of identity and self-representation through unconventional portraiture. Using digital photography as a foundation, I transform traditional prints into three-dimensional objects by cutting and incorporating tactile elements such as wood, paint, and resin. The labor-intensive techniques I apply to create these sculptural objects not only allow for a physical deconstruction of my images but also become a form of meditation that reflects my efforts in trying to reconstruct and make sense of my own identity.
"I am large," "I contain multitudes" borrows the name from Walt Whitman's poem, Song of Myself, 51: "Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)"
I appropriate Whitman's words to speak about the multiplicity of identity and how the unity of identity is a limitation or even repression.
We can be complex and many, we could define ourselves by recognizing and celebrating ourselves and the multitudes we contain.