Curatorial Rationale

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My exhibition portrays my collection of pieces that explore identity, as well as how others’ thoughts and opinions can shape a person’s essence. I have composed images, interviews, lists of hobbies and interests, and many other forms of research on the people closest to me, and using texture, color, different art styles, and composition, I reflected the collected information into each of my art works. The idea of this exhibition is to help viewers appreciate the beauty behind human beings, especially those closest to us. It is also meant to teach the viewers to look beyond the masks often worn by the people around them, including themselves, and learn from what really makes up a person.

 

Throughout all of my pieces, I used color and emphasis together. Different colors, or color palettes, all contain different associations and elicit different emotions from viewers. Thus, every vibrant, dull, bright, or dark shade used throughout the artworks were chosen intentionally to reflect the personalities, interests, desires, and emotions of my subjects. This is done, not only in their clothes, hair, accessories, etc, but also in their surroundings. Besides using these colors to match the subjects to their backgrounds, they all also create emphasis, and draw the viewer’s eye right to the subject of each piece. This is especially evident in Heba and Aniyah, as they both demonstrate the subjects being surrounded in bright colors, which greatly contrast against the black backgrounds. This not only reflects their cheerfulness and warmth, but also allows the viewer to understand their importance, especially in the eyes of the artist.

 

Besides emphasis, the idea of space was also brought into all of the pieces, using both contrasting shades and composition. In all the pieces, especially in Samantha and Menna, the viewer can see how different shades and colors are used to create the idea of shadows. Through darker browns and green, I created depth in the faces of the subjects, as well as in their clothes. This was especially useful as I did not want to place too much focus on the faces of my subjects as that is not essential to understanding their essence.

 

As my exploration of identity went on, I learned more about understanding the people around me. The newfound ability to look at them through a deeper lens than what is on the surface became more refined with each piece. Because of this, I would study people with whom I was closer in each piece. This went on until I finally reached myself. I ordered the pieces intentionally so that I moved from my friends towards my more intimate family members, and finally, myself. Placing myself at the end of the collections helps viewers understand that even I did not know how to portray myself in an authentic light until I spent time reflecting and researching every aspect of my life. The first pieces is Abraham, which is a portrait of a close friend that I have gained throughout high school, yet it took more time and effort to understand him and how his identity differs from the preconceived ideas that had already been set in place since I have known him. This research brought me closer to him as it took more empathy and understanding in order to strengthen our friendship. Next are the pieces Samantha and Aniyah. These demonstrate people that I have shared more time and experiences with, thus making it easier to portray them. This was also the case for the following pieces, which are Heba, Menna, Nestor, and Elisa 1, 2, and 3. These are my closest family members, meaning I already have a strong bond with them and an idea of their thoughts, feelings, and personalities. This helps viewers understand the identities are also made up of the people around them, meaning that the artist’s feelings and ideas about their subjects are also what makes up the essence of a person. Finally, I placed myself last. Despite the artists’ thoughts contributing to the identity of a subject, it was difficult to mirror the research and reflection I had done on myself in the piece. It took more effort to be able to pick apart every aspect of myself and accurately present myself to viewers. This ability to look inward and see authentic self took effort, and I hope viewers will be inspired to put in the same effort to truly understand themselves.