Self Portrait Project
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| Nailbiter |
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| Nailbiter |
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| Wangechi Mutu Forensic Forms, 2004 |
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| Hannah Höch Collage with Ethnic Mask (Undated). |
"Using ink and collage on Mylar or paper, she combines humans, animals and machines in seamless and commanding compositions full of small moments of discovery and random elements that may betray only an oblique relation to the overall image," writes Stephanie Cash regarding Wangechi Mutu's collage artworks (Cash 2023). With inspiration from Mutu's many beautiful works, I was able to create a collage of my own that incorporates similar elements to those of Mutu's. Titled Nailbiter, my collage includes ink, paper, and masking tape. The three mediums work together in order to demonstrate the bigger picture of my piece; the bigger picture in question being mental health awareness.
Upon looking at the image, the viewer might not be able to point out the connection between the imagery and mental health. However, the use of each element was purposeful. The handwritten background illustrates overthinking, or perhaps what the inside of my head looks like when I am experiencing high anxiety. Images of my hands show off my bitten fingernails, as this is a nasty habit I partake in to cope. Religious symbolism is featured to depict hope; many including myself look towards faith in times of desperation. The picture of the couch and floor is from a photograph I took in an abandoned house years ago; I wanted this to portray a sense of instability. Ripped masking tape was an aesthetic choice to add a rugged, messy touch. Cash quotes Höch, "'photomontage could be used not merely to produce things heavy with political meaning . . . but . . . one could also regard it as a means of self-expression and eventually arrive at purely aesthetic works,'” (Cash 2023). Although my main goal for this piece is to bring awareness to something widely important, my use of self-expression and concentration of aesthetics through this piece are evident.
Wangechi Mutu and Hannah Höch were two big influences for me through this project. Both Mutu and Höch heavily use concepts of identity throughout their works. Mental health is not something I like to consider part of my "identity," rather a part of myself and millions of other people around the world that is kept hidden. Mental health discussion is a subject many deem uncomfortable, inevitably brushing it under the rug. It is important to recognize how much of our relationships with others and ourselves is affected by how we think and feel. Why are we so afraid to raise our voices?
Works Cited
Cash, Stephanie. “From the Archives: Wangechi Mutu Dresses Cultural Critique in Freakishly Beautiful Disguises.” ARTnews.Com, ARTnews.com, 1 Feb. 2023, www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/wangechi-mutu-dresses-cultural-critique-freak-beautiful-disguises-1234655195/.
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