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Description
An assignment to "conceal and reveal identity in the same painting."

I was very troubled by the concept of this, primarily because I knew everyone would want to just stick themselves into a bunch of compartmentalized social roles, such as "woman, man, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, gay, straight, American, other country, etc etc etc etc......." and would not truly want to delve into the deeper aspects of what it means to seek personal identity. I myself know I will struggle with it my entire life. I chose then to express my frustration with this impossibility in thr work by focusing on two "roles" that I serve that sometimes limit me: being a woman and being a type I diabetic. I imposed a grid over a space to express this sense of being cramped or forced into many social strata, into "boxes," contrasting it fiercely with organic, rough strokes to express my desire to seek understanding of myself beyond these superficial identifications. I painted myself as a little plastic doll with harsh, linear (I actually used tape to get that crispness) uncompromising geometric components that express a dichotomous self-expression and identity (this or that rather than a mixture of many things) , with a stupid unknowing grin on my face and with gridlines like a blueprint coming into my skin.

There are blood test strips forming a collar around my neck and a princessy crown on my head, combining the two social roles that imprison me: the disabled and the female (some chauvinists would even say these things are synonymous, *grrr*) and I imposed little girly fabrics as well as photos of myself all over the canvas. One photo has :A+" written all over it to express my excessive perfectionism and how it clashes with the things that I have to be in modern society. FInally a little lace curtain covers a window to what should be the most revealing part of my identity, but inside is merely a picture of me as a smiling child and the words "I'm just fine, how are YOU?"

Description
An assignment to "conceal and reveal identity in the same painting."

I was very troubled by the concept of this, primarily because I knew everyone would want to just stick themselves into a bunch of compartmentalized social roles, such as "woman, man, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, gay, straight, American, other country, etc etc etc etc......." and would not truly want to delve into the deeper aspects of what it means to seek personal identity. I myself know I will struggle with it my entire life. I chose then to express my frustration with this impossibility in thr work by focusing on two "roles" that I serve that sometimes limit me: being a woman and being a type I diabetic. I imposed a grid over a space to express this sense of being cramped or forced into many social strata, into "boxes," contrasting it fiercely with organic, rough strokes to express my desire to seek understanding of myself beyond these superficial identifications. I painted myself as a little plastic doll with harsh, linear (I actually used tape to get that crispness) uncompromising geometric components that express a dichotomous self-expression and identity (this or that rather than a mixture of many things) , with a stupid unknowing grin on my face and with gridlines like a blueprint coming into my skin.

There are blood test strips forming a collar around my neck and a princessy crown on my head, combining the two social roles that imprison me: the disabled and the female (some chauvinists would even say these things are synonymous, *grrr*) and I imposed little girly fabrics as well as photos of myself all over the canvas. One photo has :A+" written all over it to express my excessive perfectionism and how it clashes with the things that I have to be in modern society. FInally a little lace curtain covers a window to what should be the most revealing part of my identity, but inside is merely a picture of me as a smiling child and the words "I'm just fine, how are YOU?"