This body of work was particularly intriguing to craft and extremely rewarding to see completed. The piece itself is constructed from wood, glue, screws, gesso, and acrylic paints so there was a quality of multimedia handiness in order to complete the fixated sculpture. Planning was essential to this due to the need for cohesion and dynamic impact. The sketchbook was a crucial tool to map out anatomical symbols that could be used, as well as measurements and construction of the armature for the painted portraits to be fixed onto. Overall, the structure of the armature needed to mimic but also abstract human form, whilst working in harmony with the painted panels. On the panels, the paint palette needed to be refined yet atmospheric and bring attention to the images itself to truly capture the interest of an audience.

The armature was conceived foremost, with the idea of it representing a human body. Rather than being completely representational, the wood was connected in the shape of a triangle with a rectangle interconnected and two angled feet placed at the bottom. The triangle was to represent the soul while the rectangle was to represent logic. Interconnected, it forms the human body grounded by the feet into a state of skewed reality. Painted white with accents of black, duality of human nature is effectively put onto display. The painted portraits were constructed to be put on this 3D piece, using a green monochromatic scheme to depict my face and lower torso. The green was an atmospheric choice to make the viewers feel slightly uneasy and quickly give the impression of feeling sickly. A nod to the process was given on the face portrait by adding the gridding back into the shirt with heavy, dark black acrylic marking. The legs were then split up by lines to show body dysmorphia surrounding the area and scarring.

When fixed together, the project truly has a strong presence that is mean to discomfort but also draw in the viewer for a closer look. Akin to many of my other artistic endeavors, the goal is to shed light on mental health issues in a way that cannot properly be described in words alone. Isolation of one form and my experience with the very real everyday battle within myself was important to showcase here. The choices made were intentional, to tell my own narrative in context of the surrounding world. Although it is personal, I feel it can relate a large audience and encourage discussion about mental illness within society.