my aRt

With an overwhelming amount of stories and personal experiences with older men’s stares and inappropriate comments, I made this to express my anger and discomfort. I worded the title with the intention to make it sound as if it was a demand from an underaged girl. I purposefully chose a fully clothed female subject to expose the reality that we are always at risk, regardless of if we have skin showing or not. I cut through the girl’s torso to expose where they focus their eyes and how vulnerable that makes us feel. The placement also represents the obviousness of the action, and the lack of eye contact furthering the feeling of being just a body. The men's eyes I cut out on the right are in black and white to signify the coldness of their stares, their ill intentions, and failure to respect us. The women’s eyes are colored as they see us as we are, and relate to our stories. 

In the background behind the girl, you can spot people who have their faces covered by letters. The letters are labels used to show that these people are from the past. The background has a black and white theme just like how films were made in the past and the letters and pictures don't stand out much for a reason. The people being unidentifiable was intended to further my point that they don't matter anymore, it's not about them. The words ``Doin Me" are purposefully standing out with bright colors to emphasize the new present day focus of herself rather than the past people. Even the order of my placements emphasize the message. The past people were placed down first and then labeled as past. Then the girl was glued down on top, as she was leaving the past behind her and moving forward.The girl is also placed in the center as she is now the focus and the "Doin Me" is her new mindset. 

As my anger has built up over time about climate change, I made this collage specifically about how we can be so selfish when it comes to nature. We say we appreciate nature, we will buy pictures of trees, and go on walks, but then turn our back when it asks for something in return. The earth provides us a home and as soon as we have to sacrifice our convenience, our money, and our time, we neglect it? We pollute, we litter, we make profit and property from cut down trees and that seems like a fair trade? We say we care until we have to go further and live differently in order to save it. We take down nature for land, we take it for profit, we take advantage of it, and we take it for granted. We take, take, take, but when will we give? Too many of us are settling for a future full of “you don't know what you got till it's gone” phrases, but I’m not. It’s time to give back to our home, before it's too late. 

This is my most simple collage I have made because the message was so prominent during the time when I put it together. For a long time, I had struggled to find a way out of this black hole of attachment I had on someone. This was the phrase that got me out of it. Sometimes it can just be as simple as someone not being good for you. It doesn't matter if they aren't hurting you on purpose or if they are well intentioned. Them not making you feel good or not benefiting you in any way can be enough to let them go.