I had never done a group project where I had to create a portrait of my partner. I found this journey interesting because I had little time to truly get to know Avita. I have always been interested in the idea of representing others (especially with photography). Through writing and photographing, I was able to create the aura/essence of Avita through my own lens. Similarly, I was able to represent myself in new ways.
There were many representations of self and others in the class. Some groups focused on their interests, heritage, sexuality, etc., but I decided to work with the fact that I really knew nothing about Avita (besides surface level facts). I created a series of poems and photos that represented her aura as well as mine. I find the energy that people give off more important than what I think I might know about them at first. We are all very complex, and portraying someone as if I know them was something I didn’t want to do.
Both class assignments allowed me to take an intimate approach to how we are seen. I sometimes have difficulty expressing myself in front of others, but find it much easier to show people who I am by putting it in poetry or photography. To a certain extent, our own meaning of our art doesn’t matter to anyone but ourselves. Once our piece is visible to others, it is subject to different ideas and opinions. I think this is why I have always found it difficult to speak about how I feel about my work. It is an extension of myself, and I am not always aware of exactly what it means to me. While exploring the unknown about Avita, I began thinking about myself and how I wanted the class to see me. I wanted to represent myself in the same way as Avita. Knowing yourself doesn’t necessarily matter. What we think we know about ourselves has everything to do with how people have reflected their views about you on yourself. This is why I decided to put my self-portrait poetry in third person.
There was a lot of though-provoking work in the class presentations. I was especially interested in Isabella’s piece.
Her piece was quite minimal like mine. I really liked that about the piece. I could tell with her presentation that she is the type of person that enjoys the smaller aspects in life. She decided to focus on her similarities to Dia, but focused on things that were below surface level. Her concept circled around their enjoyment of driving at night. This small (yet effective) concept was something I wanted to take note of. This got me thinking about how we truly define ourselves by the small things we dislike and like in our lives. It reminded me of the beginning of the movie “Amelie”. The movie opens with a introduction to the characters by describing the little things they enjoy and the habits that make them who they are. Her project itself was also great.
