This body of work is an insight on the teenage experience, with each work portraying a common but also uniquely personal teenage struggle. From juggling the pressure of academic excellence to struggling to find a sense of belonging among peers, the...
Materials: Charcoal on paper, magazine pieces, old receipts, plastic, bubble wrap
Process: Layers of charcoal on paper, cutting out words from a magazine, and combining with plastic and bubble wrap
Size: 22*32 inches
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The inspiration for this piece came from taking a shower after a very stressful day at school. I stepped into the shower, looked up at my reflection in the showerhead. My previously worn-out eyes slowly starting to have light in them. I suddenly felt lighter, happier.
That's when I realized that the shower was not only a place where I maintained my personal hygiene, but also a place that allowed me to relax and release the accumulated stress and negativity in life.
In this mixed media portrait, I wanted to show how the soap in the shower has the power to wash off any unpleasant situations or emotions one may be feeling.
With charcoal and magazine (for the bubbles), I drew myself smiling at my clean and happy reflection in the showerhead. If you look closely, the shampoo bottle on the rack is created using positive, encouraging words, while the bubbles behind me are wrinkled negative words, representing the bits and pieces of negativity I have washed off.
Through this cleansing process, I am kept grounded to my goals, aspirations, and optimism.
