I have always had a fascination with personality traits, understanding them, accepting them, rejoicing in the flaws and quirks that make and individual, so it was natural for me to be drawn to portraits. When I studied the self-portraits of Durer, Rembrandt and Van Gogh I saw how each portrait showed a new aspect of the artist, showing an evolution of the art and their identity. I wanted to take a new approach to what a portrait contains, I wanted to show who the person really it and not just a physical representation.
The inspiration for this show, or at least the beginning idea, came from life. In high school I had issues with people judging me based on my appearance or just one facet of my personality. In creating a show that literally breaks down a personality into single traits, I needed a way to convey that a person is more than just one characteristic, so the puzzle pieces became a huge part of my message.
Each piece is a unique part of the person, a way to convey who they are and not just what the world always sees. It is a small pieces of a person that creates the whole. With each new piece, a different aspect, a different piece of the puzzle, needed to be captured. Due to the separation of the personality, a duality is created that exists within each person. With myself I used body image as a way to possesses my own duality with my looks. The two pieces, I Am Ugly and I Am Beautiful, serve to create a tension between beauty and ugliness. And it is the duality that people find a balance, a balance that makes them whole.
Thanks,
Olivia Shumate
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