photo project: Not Self Portrait

“Not Self-Portrait,” is an exploratory self-portrait series in an unfamiliar sense. The multiple characteristics, attributes, thoughts, feelings, and behavior that make up a person’s unique existence cannot be wholly expressed in a typical portrait of a face or body. “Not Self-Portrait,” is an entire project focusing on personality instead of physical makeup.

It was Stefan Sagmeister who once said; “I had discovered that I’m much less special than I thought I am. So whatever I find true for myself, other people might also relate to.” The older I get, the more I realize that others share my quirks and habits, and I’m not as weird as I think I am. I want others to find comfort in the fact that people are actually all the same, despite our seemingly many differences.

These photographs focus on items in my surroundings that relate to my own personality. This includes visualization of thoughts I have, habits I practice, and objects I relate to. Incorporating typography in the photographs adds an element of visual caption and thought to the image. The formal qualities of these pieces are the only aspect of these photographs that are even close to perfect.  Nobody is perfect, and that in itself is the perfect existence.