AP Drawing Portfolio
My portfolio consists of pieces intended to evoke a deeper understanding of inner conflict and ideas that I personally find difficult to express without undermining the subject. I found that through visually depicting my ideas, words are no longer required to gain comprehension; moreover, at first glance, it creates a space for additional individual interpretation.
AP Score: 5
Brainwashed
This specific piece addresses colourism and its prominent role in Indian culture. In this piece, the tears express what the subject is crying about. In India, being a lighter skin tone is put on a high pedestal and is pushed from a young age through ads, bollywood movies, and even relatives. Ads like fair & lovely and lyrics in indian songs all perpetuate the idea that in order to be beautiful, you must be fair. The background consists of a collage containing various magazine advertisements marketing skin bleaching. Not only is this mentality and narrow idea of beauty extremely damaging to the mental health of millions, the majority of “life-changing” and “magical” skin bleaching creams have illegal and harmful chemicals. Skin color should not define one’s worth, complexion is entirely genetic so let’s embrace our melanin and get rid of the ridiculous beauty standards created by businesses to profit off of our insecurities.
Media “Diversity”
This artwork is about the lack of representation of POC [people of color] in the media and how it makes those of us unrepresented question our self-worth. I remember watching shows from a young age and never seeing anyone that looked like me, and the occasional times I did, they were unimportant side characters, stereotypical and made fun of. For a long time this created an idea that my life was simply meant to support someone else deemed “more important”, hence the question “Am I even the main character in my own life?” (I heard this quote a while back and it stuck with me ever since) There have definitely been steps made in the inclusion of more authentic poc character portrayals in the media, but there is still much progress to be made.
Numb
Oftentimes school feels like the same cycle of waking up, going to class, doing homework, going to sleep and repeat. With the lack of time to pursue our own passions and simply enjoy being a kid, we feel like machines with no real purpose and all the emotions of frustration, pressure, sadness, longing and more overflow to where this nothing left- numbness, it is much easier to not feel than have to feel everything all at once. The sentences in the background are phrases students repeatedly tell themselves, especially with the competitive nature of the school system and their futures at stake, perfection is essentially required to obtain a secure future. Additional hidden messages alongside the overarching message include the messiness of the desk, the “rate your happiness” test, the iPhone messages, and the open journal.
Blurry
This artwork is specifically about overwhelming thoughts and trying to control thoughts when your brain starts running at 1000 mph, and how it can feel like an ocean when there is nothing tangible to hold onto as an anchor. I was experimenting with monochromatic coloring to further my understanding on lights and shadows and create a different effect through my analogous color scheme.
Acceptance
In the 18th century, miniature painted portraits were extremely popular, and they were done on different materials and different shapes. More specifically, there was a genre of these miniature paintings that was an eye on an oval surface that was exchanged among lovers. There is something intriguing about the anonymity stemming from it being just an eye and only the beholder knows who the eye truly belongs to. Inspired by that, I incorporated it into my piece but with a twist, the oval shape and eye are like the past, but rather it for another lover, the lover is myself. The fish surround me because fish in general, represent the unconscious of higher-self and deeper awareness. I have finally come to a place of accepting myself where my view about myself is what I hold highest and understanding my own validity.