The focus of my body of work has moved through several different themes but ultimately relates to a focus on how my body relates to my work - and how one can present an understanding of self-identity through art. My portfolio has incorporated sculptural and textural elements and I’ve used a number of processes to adapt the medium to my purpose, such as the deliberate use of hair on the painting surface and the incorporation of multiple media into my pieces. I began IB Art as a painter, and the process has pushed me to focus on other media in my portfolio so that I could experiment as much as possible. I have grown a great deal as an artist from this experience. As I grew using new media, I experimented with new techniques and ideas. I grew to love the lino-cut process, as well as cardboard sculpture. My favorite pieces, coincidentally, are the two cardboard pieces that I created. The pieces create contrast in medium from my other pieces and thus allow for a deeper comprehension of the theme. This understanding led me to search for artists that also focus on multiple media such as Njideka Akunyili-Crosby. Using multiple mediums allows me to express my complicated self-identity and allows more audience members to connect with my work, as a whole. In “Consume” and “Allure, I both focused on the image of self and played with which medium to use. These two pieces used a positive-negative balance in order to create a sense of turmoil when the viewer looked at the two pieces together. The pieces were inspired by my time on social media as a generation Z student. Focusing on the negative and positive effects of media was a theme that connected to how a person's self image changes just as technology changes through time. Furthermore, the cardboard pieces as well as the large acrylic painting pieces discuss the sense of self through other people's points of view as well as your own. For example, the piece “Without Purpose” focuses on a personal experience with a loss of femininity and a loss of hair. I use these personal connections to explore aspects of myself that are not able to be explained through language but rather through images and feelings. These pieces, however, also proved to be two of the most difficult pieces to make in my portfolio. Having a personal connection to losing hair from an eating disorder meant that it was a piece that contained a lot of personal history, literally. A person with this shared experience may connect with this piece more strongly than someone who does not. Finally, as I began to finish my portfolio, I focused on creating pieces that dealt with issues that affect self image, including sexual assault and eating disorders. In order to fully understand “self,” I knew that I had to showcase both positive and negative aspects of self image. The “Denim Day” dress showcased this balance perfectly. This piece is based on a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court where a rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have consented by helping the person who raped her remove her jeans. I was able to create a piece that brought awareness to this issue, while also tying my personal history into the theme of self identity, and how its perception can be changed by others. In general, this portfolio aims to create a different experience for every viewer depending on their own self image. The pieces focus on the aspects of a person's life that would change both their perception of themselves as well as their perceptions of others. The use of different mediums allows for every opportunity of discovery and experimentation to be fully explored. The portfolio created gives every person an opportunity to feel supported and heard through these works of art.