Growing up, I have always recognized the significance of beauty standards and the means of being deemed physically attractive by society. My ambivalence towards my body image fulfilled my worries of not meeting the unattainable standards of beauty - essentially affecting both my mental and physical health. With my chosen theme, Body Image, I intend to show the societal pressure to fit the beauty standards together with its privilege and damaging impacts.

For this exhibition, I have selected several artworks that express the differing aspects of one’s body image. One of these artworks is entitled “Forgotten poetry”, an acrylic painting on a 50 x 70 cm canvas. The subject of this painting is a woman’s body, which is surrounded by commentaries that have been said regarding one’s physical appearance. For this artwork, I had conducted a brief survey that is given to people of all ages and gender to anonymously describe a comment someone has made towards their physical appearance, that has significantly affected the perception of their body image. I received a variety of responses, such as commentaries regarding one’s skin color, body type, masculinity, etc. These responses show that people may not realize nor remember the things that they have said regarding one’s appearance, but those who receive such commentaries are able to hold that thought close to them for a long time, ultimately, developing these comments to insecurities.

Another piece that has been selected is entitled “Alteration”, an acrylic painting on a 50 x 60 canvas. This artwork displays the role of cosmetic surgery in today’s society, which often is to satisfy one’s needs to fit in society’s unrealistic beauty standards. The painting exhibits a close-up image of a female’s stoic face with markings all over, indicating that she is currently preparing for a cosmetic surgery procedure. Other patients often display worry or excitement during their pre-op session, but the subject of my artwork shows neither. Her blank facial expression shows her numbness towards these procedures, which is intended to show that even with these procedures, she recognizes that cosmetic surgery is traditionally expressed to be man-made and socially unacceptable. These unattainable standards and taboo towards plastic surgery show the frustrating idea of not being good enough to society.

Another one of my artwork is entitled “Italicize”, which revolves around the topic of Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Body Dysmorphic Disorder, or more often known as BDD, is a mental health condition that affects an individual to obsessively focus on a perceived flaw in their appearance, which often is unnoticeable to others. One of the symptoms of BDD is having a strong belief that one has a defect in one appearance. I wanted to depict this thought in my artwork by displaying a face that gradually becomes deformed.

Throughout the course of two years, I have created many artworks that have helped me develop an understanding of my abilities in art. I realized that, although I face many difficulties in terms of comprehending art techniques and learning how to communicate my thoughts to art, I am able to improve by practicing and learning from past mistakes. All things considered, I truly enjoyed the process of learning and creating these artworks.