19-007.2 '22' A Self Portrait
wood and graphite
The individuality and of the face is what allows for recognition and the recollection of identity and coupled knowledge of the person. However, the external self is not the comprehensive truth of what we encompass. The face is a corporeal representation of our identities, histories, and interests; a mask we wear as an identifier to ourselves, and to those around us.
As technology has advanced, the face has become a digitally coded map of millions of planes that compose a complex geometric topography of our identity. Biometric data is both discreetly stolen, and freely handed over for security purposes. Reducing the individual's multiple unique identities down to only one identifying form.
Using a 3D scanner I have copied the identities of several individuals and replicated them using a computer, numerical controlled ‘CNC’ router to carve their forms out of wood. Through a meticulous process of hand finishing and ornamenting these masks, I hope to honor the form as a celebration of the individual.
This self-portrait displays the beauty of the hand-finished wooden layers displaying the construction of this mask. 22 graphite rings are hand-drawn onto the wall surrounding the mask as an extension of the self. Similar to how trees display a ring for every year of their growth, the 22 rings represent my age at the time that my likeness was scanned.