Throughout my process of creating this work, I learned how to articulate myself and my partner through a distorted lens to try to describe accurately on who we are and the way that we perceive ourselves. I am referring to both my cast artwork and my paper artwork. On the cast that I made for myself, the words on the front of the cast are words that contribute to my dysphoria and self-hatred as an outward looking “female” in societal standards. However, on the inside (like the inside of the cast) I feel all these different pronouns and phrases; internally, I understand that these words are the truth to me. I made a cast for Angelo too to create a consistent theme throughout my artwork. The words I chose for him are different because I chose to focus on his sexuality and how he navigates through his world as a gay person of color. The words on the outside of the cast are phrases that he heard growing up, but on the inside are words that describe the depth to his personality. For my paper artwork, I wanted to use the 18 by 24 sheets to create our body figures to show our struggle with body issues. I wanted to map out my body dysphoria to create a personal journey for everyone in the class to be able to understand how dysphoria works. In my figure, I expanded on the eyes that had makeup on it because I wanted to show what the world expects of me to act- to act feminine. I also enlarged on the breasts because those are a major factor that contributes to my dysphoria. I used green spray paint to cross out the breasts because I wanted a bold color to express that I do not claim these as fully mine. I also drew a triangle to substitute a vagina and crossed it out as well. For Angelo’s piece, I used a Greek statue to replace the parts of the body that I learned that he was insecure about. Around the image, I used a quote from Call Me by Your Name to comment back on his sexuality and how if we do not take our chances because we were too scared, we would end up broken and empty in the end. I learned to heal through my work and creating an open atmosphere to allow my body and soul to be exposed to the class. I also learned the importance on how to understand the depths of the person before doing a project about them and their personal life. What I have learned from other student’s from their works, is to expand further in my own art and try to expand past the materials that I have used. I was inspired by Sally’s work and her artistic skill to create dolls and a metal heart cage. The use of the materials were well done, even the work on the doll despite her first time creating one. I personally enjoyed the innocence in the pieces as I view my own innocence that was robbed from me in her artwork. I notice that Sally incorporates her culture in some aspects of her work, and I hope to do the same in my future pieces. I learned to be more proud of my heritage and new innovative ways that I could express my art next time.
