James Nguyen Self portraits

My body of work explores the distortion of identity due to our hyper-fixation on personal appearance. Insecurities cause us to lose a sense of ourselves, of those who are close to us and our outlook on life. In my work the contortion and deformation of the face represent this struggling identity, uncomfortable in its own skin. The use of grayscale is intended to create a sense of overwhelming intensity, so the audience focuses on the fluctuating form which expresses my own experience of helplessness.

Influencing artists:
Hajime Sorayama
Juul Kraijer
Ozabu