with this art piece, the first image is called “Do not love me for my petals” and the second image is called “love me for my roots”

when it comes to my artwork. i come to find that it draws from the plethora of emotions and state of minds that i find myself in. often times very spontaneous too. being a very sensitive person who is very in tune with their emotions, i find that often times i feel moments in life heavier than perhaps the average person (at least from my own point of view)

i knew with this project that i wanted to bring forth the idea of “do not love me for my petals. love me for my roots.” this arises from my own experiences of being and feeling misunderstood. yes, we can say that this is a piece on physical beauty and the superficial expectations of society but on a more personal level i really wanted to connote the idea that things are far deeper than they appear. we as people are so much more complex than we appear and portray. that is not to say that we put on different masks (although it can), but rather, how our experiences shape, and continue to shape us.

we as people go through seasons. some good, some ugly, some beautiful, and sometimes normal. to say that our petals sprout the same after each season further emphasizes the idea of the beauty of our roots. they are ever-changing although being rooted. beautiful, huh?

not showing my face plays on my self-portrait aesthetic of mystery. i choose not to show my face, oddly enough, to be more personable. allowing the piece to be more universal and relateable, although very personal. putting a face to it, in my opinion makes it far more personable to me and my intention is to reach an audience that also may encounter very similar experiences and emotions as i do. so that it may speak to them, and so they too may feel understood.

to further highlight one of my core values of embracing our imperfect imperfections, i chose to display my body in a distorted yet intricate manner, embodying the essence of people. distorted yet intricate.