E-PORTRAITS SERIES
My latest series of paintings, titled "E-Portraits series" is actually a series in progress, I might even change the title. It is a new series and none of the paintings are completed yet. In this series I am exploring the intersection of technology, self representation, and contemporary identity. Using found selfies from the internet and social media, I create portraits that reflect the persona and self image projected by individuals in their online profile. As an artist, I am fascinated by the concept of self-reflection and its relationship to social media. These paintings explores this theme by depicting individuals taking selfies in bathroom mirrors. By depicting these individuals in the act of taking selfies, I aim to capture the fleeting moments of self reflection and self expression that occur in these private spaces.
Through the interplay of color, form, text, and sometimes found objects, I seek to elevate the seemingly trivial act of taking a selfie into a deeper reflection of self-perception, and self representation.
These new paintings build upon the legacy of artists such as Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, and David Hockney, who have used popular culture and technology as subject matter in their portraiture. Warhol's "Celebrity Portraits" and Hockney's composite "Polaroid Portraits" challenged traditional notions of portraiture, while Sherman's photographic self-portraits played with the idea of self representation and the construction of identity. In the age of the internet, and social media, the act of taking a selfie has become ubiquitous, and my paintings seek to comment on the influence of technology on contemporary identity. Each portrait captures a momentary expression, a curated snapshot of the self that is often at odds with the complexities and contradictions of our lived experiences.
"E-Portraits" invites viewers to question the role of technology in shaping our sense of self and ponder the nature of identity in the digital age. By using the language of painting to explore the contemporary experience of self-representation, my work contributes to the ongoing dialogue around portraiture and identity in art.