CONCEPT: Arigato - A reflection on my personality

My concept is based on the development of my personality. That is, how I changed throughout the years since my college years. My three artworks are entitled “Arigato” which means thank you. These three works represent a token of appreciation and appraisal to those that were always present such as my family, my circle of friends and some colleagues that helped me become the right person and the ideal teacher. I wanted to immortalise their presence in my artwork and I wanted to describe a journey for the audience to discover about myself. As a reference, I was inspired by the famous YouTuber illustrator “James Raiz” known as the “box office artist” who creates complex and highly detailed compositions. He particularly used a comic book style which I particularly adopted as a technique in my works. For instance, in my painting, some comic book characters such as batman, superman and even anime characters could be seen in my portfolio and final work. The reason for inserting these characters was that they formed part of my childhood and they were like a refuge against my introvert personality. Moreover, for my 2^ND work, I decided to create an installation in the form of a storyboard panel, which consist of 9 pieces. The storyboard narrates briefly about myself and my journey. Finally, my third artwork is a metal sculpture representing a walking robot with an umbrella that impersonates the actual “me”. That is, I have changed and become an introvert character who is now ready to break the obstacles and face any hurdles that blocked my ambition and dreams. The umbrella is my weapon to fight against and to protect myself.

It was really a challenge to work on the 3 artworks. However, it helped in developing my skills and being more autonomous towards art. That is, being innovative and bringing new strategies and techniques. For instance, I learnt to paint on other supports such as dry leaves and even newspapers. Plexiglass can be used as a new way of presentation and even as an installation series. With, the coursework, I learnt to go beyond paper and to think further on new ideas. It was a real opportunity to express myself and to depict the motivation behind my three works. To show what I really love and to finally show it to an audience. There were drawbacks to the mounting of the artworks, but with self-motivation, I managed to fulfil the completion of my coursework. In the end, it was an experience that shaped my view about art. In return, I hope to successfully transmit to my learners. In the future, the next generation of students should be able to portray themselves as a concept and to express their personalities.