2017 Introspection

 Throughout my life, I have constantly asked myself why I wanted to pursue art. Finally, at the end of my undergraduate career, I have discovered why it is imperative for me to create art. 

Through Introspection project, I reclaimed who I am as an artist. Even though I had always carried my camera, I was shooting as a mere observer capturing nicely-rendered images. During the process for creating Introspection, I realized my previous works were not an accurate reflection of who I am. My artworks did not reflect my true soul and feelings. I was detached and not presented in the works of my art. 

Gradually, I learned how important it was to incorporate ceramics and raw clays into my creative process. The clay became the seed and the mirror of my soul. Combining different mediums allowed me to reconsider my artistic vision and evaluate my approach to my art through self-criticism. 

During the building of the maquette, I employed alternative photographic processes and begun adding multiple planes to the created environments. I learned how to connect myself to the objects and images within. I became the creator of my own three-dimensional world. I captured dynamic lives of three-dimensional quality such as space, time, and emotion into two dimensional surfaces and I felt that my work was evolving to a whole new level. I started seeing infinite potential for new and creative projects. 

Introspection is created to express who I am, as well as serve as my confession about my art. During the process, I was contemplating Socrates’ phrase “Know thyself,” and what that truly meant. I concluded that I am a mere incomplete and broken being at this point in my life. That is why I see myself in raw chunks of clay – without definite form and shape. However, I eventually came to terms with who I am, and found comfort in the reality that I could always start over to make myself complete. This painful undertaking of understanding who I was, and finding comfort in who I could be contributed to the development of this artistic work. 

It was my life, it is my life, and it will be my life.