The portraits are all done and finally I can compile them all onto this blog post. Looking at them all together really is heartwarming as it is really privilege that I have been able to express all the people closest to me at the centre of my identity, people who make my life what it is.
Reflecting upon this work is like looking at a journey in which I believe I have understood how much the familiar faces of these family members and friends are intertwined into my story and identity and I in theirs.
Looking at the portraits, what does really make them stand out is their symbolic nature, as although I look upon the portraits and recognise the people for their qualities and auras, people who view these in exhibition would have not. However, with the symbolic background it brings the portraits to life, it gives them a story, identity and life to those who otherwise wouldn't know anything about them, and as a result tells the story of my identity and the familiar faces that I have always seen throughout my life.
I look forward to seeing them all up together in the School of Art next week.
(additional series)
This additional series of my grandparents will also be going up with my main portraits in the exhibition, they reflect a hidden/indirect influence on my story, as they are the familiar faces of my parents lives. Exploring this concept of an indirect influence on identity and thinking about the impact of generation after generation on each others lives was really interesting and something that I would like to delve into much more in my art practice to come.
(The final portraits without the patterns)
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