Laguna College of Art + Design

Is plastic surgery feminist? Why can I not see myself as a whole whenever I look into

the mirror? Advertisements and social media instruct young women to meticulously analyze

and obsess over their bodies. Why do I and others worship and partake in this obsession in

beauty and self-image without question? This fixation on self-image serves as an obligatory

system that almost all women find themselves compelled to partake in. The societal

perception of a woman's worth hinges on the extent to which she immerses herself in the

pursuit of beauty, turning the journey of becoming a woman into what feels like a

burdensome ordeal. The tumultuous relationship I have with beauty and self-image is the

core theme throughout my drawings. For me, the pencil is more than just a tool—the marks I

make reflect my innermost emotions and thoughts. With each stroke, I aim to capture the

essence of fleeting moments and profound feelings, infusing my work with a raw truth that

speaks to the human experience. The mixed media collaged drawings additionally symbolize

the passage of time, the inevitability of change, and a fractured perception of myself as

beautiful. The disassembly of four large self-portraits and their reassembly into collaged

drawings signifies a profound encounter with loss and fragmentation, encapsulating both the

erosion of my identity and my new-found sense of wholeness that has come with a realistic

relationship to self-image/beauty. Tearing up and reconfiguring the drawings can be seen as a

transformative process, leading to rebirth or renewal.