These were my top 3 photos from the week of self portraits. What I like about the first one is the color coordination of the “crocs” store and my outfit, the second one has both my favorite jacket and pants in the same photo and kinda looks like Im levitating with one foot, and finally in the last photo I like the pants with the doll in the pocket because it adds a nice humorous touch.
These were my favorite portraits throughout the process of this assignment. Rather than taking photographs, I decided to draw my portraits each day. Personally I’ve never been particularly drawn to photography, and I don’t like taking pictures of myself very much. I also thought that drawings could better reflect my overall thoughts and mood for the day through exaggerated gestures and expressions! For the 6 day journal assignment, I labelled each portrait with the day of the week I drew it, and Tuesday is my free day so I tried to capture the calm but slightly bored feeling I was having. My second portrait was from the second round of portraits, and I was a bit frantic and stressed that day so I drew out a mind dump of the general thoughts/emotions running through my head at that time.
These are my favorite photographs that I took for my self portraits. In the first image, I am standing next to a gallery painting of “Friends” at The Hole in Bowery. I felt that this represented me and my childhood desire to assimilate to American culture. By gazing at such an Americana, true, and traditionally 90’s vibe, I am inserting myself into the narrative of being an American, all while being Korean. The second photo is a self taken photo of me at my internship taken at a down up angle. I wanted to depict my strong work ethic and ambition; my diligence is what led me to New York City in the first place. I also wanted to represent women in business and entrepreneurship, almost as a personal process within myself to prove that my work will prove my success, not my gender. Lastly, I intentionally took a selfie with a necklace shaped in the letter “S”. I wanted to make this photo intimate to myself because I tried to illustrate a narrative that starts from being ashamed of my Korean name and overcoming it by wearing an accessory that reminds me of it.
The following images were my favorite contributions to the self portrait project. I feel as though these images represent the most personal parts of me. Compared to the rest, these pictures show who I am. Music has always been a big part of me. Posts from my Soundcloud date back to 2012. It can be used to show how I have musically evolved as well as the posted interview, which details accounts and recollections from my past. Jewelry and accessories also make me who I am. Without these rings or silver buckled belts a huge part of my identity would be missing.
I chose these 3 images because they are the most meaningful to me being that these are shots with either some of my closest friends or during the time I was with friends. I particularly like the first photo due to the foot positioning which creates a sense of parallels. Also, you are able to get an overall sense of who I am through these photos with my style. My personal style is usually wearing mostly black as I don’t really want to stand out. That can also be seen throughout my photos as I usually don’t enjoy showing my face.
For the image of my side profile with the mouth of a cat, I wanted to express my spirit animal by connecting part of their face with mine.
The picture with multiple versions of me walking on shopping bags, I wanted to express my addiction to shopping. How sometimes, I need to just get one item, but somehow, the more I walk around I end up buying more things that I planned on buying.
In the last picture, I wanted to show how I daydream and the process of it. I always think of some sort of alternative world where nothing would really make sense. Or sometimes, I like to add to the boring reality that I live in.
Out of all the photos we took for the class, I like the 2 identity shots I took with my cat the most. I feel like my cat is a huge part of who I am. I spend all my personal life with him, we sleep together, play together and support each other with love. Without my cat I would not be the person that I am right now. Before having him, I used to not sleep well and had anxiety when I had to stay alone. After adopting my cat, at my apartment, there is always someone who is waiting for me, that kind of feeling of safety and security really made my life better. He is more than an emotional support animal, but family.
I picked these three pictures from my self portrait/identity pictures, which I feel are representative of me. The things included in all three of these images are my everyday essentials. The first picture I took while waiting for the bus (I liked how the sun was hitting the stop.) It shows my favorite sweater, necklace and scarf. I’m also holding my water bottle that I bring everywhere and am wearing a usual puffer jacket. The second picture I took while in the UC library cause I’m usually there between classes throughout the week. I’m wearing converse, Levi’s and have a copy of Just Kids in my lap. I read in my free time, so this is a usual part of my everyday routine. The last picture I took right before a class started because I was cold and still had my jacket on inside, which was funny to me.
This is how I prefer to wear when going outdoor to have fun. I hate carrying heavy things, which gives me a sense of burden, so keeping it as light and casual as possible makes me feel at ease.
This is a reflection of how my friends see me, very complex. They see fortitude and determination in me, from the way I handle work, the way I walk, the straight forward way I talk in, to my appearance: locked brows, my angular chin, and my serious (sometimes even seems to be angry, they said) expression when I was thinking or focusing. But they also see blandness and indecision (and stupidity) in me when I take care of friends, making various decisions, get shy or respond to funny things.
This is the way I see myself. Hard to describe. I am super emotional, I laugh very loudly and joke with my friends for 24 hours in a day. I only reveal my humor in front of intimate friends and I enjoy killing time in nature with them.
through my self portraits I created digital collages of different outfit details and mood boards. For the identity portion I was in the middle of an identity crisis and was unsure of what my identity was so I created a set up in my room and on my bed where I feel most myself. Vogue covers in the background express my interest in fashion and my collection of the magazine. I recently got bangs so I made sure to emphasize them in this photo. My shirt in this specific portrait I am wearing an emerald green shirt which is my birth stone. Which I love to incorporate into my every day looks. 
These are my favorite images from the portrait/identity project because I feel they represent me best; In the first photo I am wearing my dad’s Irish sweater, in the second I’m painting, and in the third I’m using my mom’s bag from the Philippines. So, I felt these shots all represented me and my identity in some way.
2 black and white portraits
1 color
3 different sides
of me
framed for your viewing