This self portrait addresses the theme of identity, both of self and society. School photos are a cultural symbol, a rite of passage and a document of our growth and journey into adulthood. Appropriating the style of the familiar school photo, this work subverts what is ordinary to present an alternative truth. As an autobiographical work, it is my reflection on the child I was and tells of the compassion I feel for the journey she will take. In a broader context this work acknowledges the difficulties of travelling from the innocence of childhood to the realities of adulthood. Our school years can be amazing years of self-discovery but are also loaded with pressures and challenges. An animation made of still photos, this digital portrait moves beyond the frozen smiling images of our school portraits to show an element of childhood that is rarely communicated.
