FAMILIAR FACES
(SENIOR EXHIBITION)
Reflection
Usually when my family takes photos everyone is positioned next to each other. Following the placement of everyone is the classic announcement, “smile, say cheese”. Of course smiling is necessary if you want to show your families’ happy, comfortable environment. My senior exhibition challenges traditional family portraits. I have created a series of 9 portraits referencing snapshots recently taken of my family. Their wacky facial expressions reflect their actions in a true serene environment, proving that a smile doesn’t always showcase happiness. Yue Minjun’s expressionistic art helped inspire me to create portraits with an unconventional twist, helping display my painting style and my theatrically strange family. Facial expressions are the focal point of my pieces which is the reason for the bizarre floating heads, and although some expressions seem harsh, their vibrant backgrounds bring them back to their irie personas.