A visual personal check in with myself in late Fall of 2020. The last self portrait had been years ago when I was in a very different place in life. This piece was created in curiosity of how I saw myself in such an isolated year. I was unpacking a lot about beauty, race, and capitol. Really considering Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom’s essay “In the Name of Beauty” and how as a Black woman, I am expected to interact with beauty so that others could gain capital but had found different ways to combat that throughout my life.
This self portrait shows evidence of this reflection in it’s execution. Less of an accurate rendering but an attempt to be less partial to any flattering decisions that could be made while crafting this self portrait. Collaging in floral fabric reflect my Southern femme identity still present in my negotiation of beauty and of what I value in a world that was becoming more honest about it’s devaluing of myself and it’s desire to commodify.