Portrait of a Girl

2024

Acrylic paint on paper

During the creation of this artwork, I engaged in meditations on the concept of the self, reflecting on the history of classical portraiture, my Eurocentric background, and contemplating the role of realist depiction in the contemporary landscape of art.
Living in the United States, my early conceptions of the 'self' were shaped by dualistic notions—the self primarily existed in the mind, as if 'the body [were] the vehicle of the mind'—to quote Dion Fortune. Similarly, Descartes, the father of modern Western philosophy, viewed the mind as separate from the body. A Christian upbringing further reinforced these ideas that the 'self' was detached from the body and the material world, as Christianity often frames the body as sinful flesh, with the spirit—the true self—enduring for eternity.
In this artwork, I merge traditional portraiture techniques like grisaille and glazing with contemporary elements, particularly evident in the clothing of the subject, blending past and present in my exploration of selfhood.

6.75 x 5 inches