Who You Are/Who Are You?For this piece, I was very inspired by the depression and anxiety I've always experienced in relation to my identity as a trans guy. I am constantly surrounded by prejudice and hate for who I am, whether that be in the environments I spend most of my time in or in the society we live in altogether. I really wanted the cold and dull greyscale exterior world to contrast the bright and vivid aquarium environment filled with radiant blue and pink hues. The colourful person in the reflection represents the best, albeit messy, authentic, and honestly truest version of myself. This is to emphasize the difference between living authentically as who you are, in contrast to putting on a mask for the comfort of those around you, and how pretending to be something you’re not leaves you feeling empty and numb, in a constant state of depression, and not truly living your life. The ocean-life on the inside of the aquarium is largely filled with sharks. Personally, sharks are one of my favourite animals, but I feel that they also represent a part of me too. There are often a lot of misconceptions and fears surrounding sharks and there’s also a general fear of the unknown with the ocean. I see the ocean and the creatures that inhabit it as a metaphor for those who are different and ostracized for these differences in our society. I really wanted to illustrate the beauty and wonder of these sharks, sea creatures, and ocean-life in this piece, to represent people like me. |