Caitlin's Self Portrait

Artist Statement:

My self-portrait is interpretive but to me symbolizes many specific feelings. I created this self-portrait under a streetlamp during the night. This lighting symbolizes a spotlight, which represents how everyday I’m being judged and examined by everyone: teachers, friends, society etc. I feel that I have an obligation to strive to impress this spotlight, hence why my eyes are cast upwards. The light also symbolizes an island, which I’m stranded in the middle of. Sometimes I feel that I’m isolated from everyone else, perhaps because I’m literally confined on an island.

Trial and error:

This was actually one of the first pictures I took. After capturing this I had another idea and attempted to execute it. This idea involved a lot of photo shopping which was a lot harder then I initially expected it to be, and the position was difficult to get a decent shot of. 20 photos later, after finally taking something I was kind of happy with and photo shopping it, I realized I liked my first one better anyway. Another problem that I had was the weather. Most of my brainstorming ideas depended on it being a clear sunny day, but unfortunately on the last three days of this project, it rained. Brainstorming was difficult for me because I was not quite sure how I view myself and even less sure of how others view me.