For my zine, I would like the central focus to be about body image and all that falls into this category; the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful. Issues pertaining to that of body image are constant in various parts of my life. My sister has battled anorexia for the better part of my life and watching her struggle has both broken and shaped me. While it may not be to the same extent, I, too, struggle with finding a peaceful home within my own body. Art has always been my form of communication and healing, and I feel like this topic has managed to weigh me down and hold me back from being my best self recently more than ever. I have not made the conscious effort to begin healing yet, but I am confident that this project will be my first big step. My vision for this zine is to have a series of images bringing light to the reality of just how hard it can be for women to survive every day, fighting to just be enough in a world full of so many expectations. I want to simulate the feeling of living every day in an uphill battle against the world, but more significantly, against yourself. I would like to represent our own minds as some sort of evil, monstrous presence and do my best to represent just how hard it can be living in the body of your own worst enemy. While I aim to be realistic, I would like to gradually make this piece more positive and beautiful as the piece/images progress. I want to really emphasize just how much of life is wasted when we allow ourselves to be all consumed in something as bleak as our appearance. I want this to be an empowering piece, being realistic about the “ugly”, but highlighting how we can find the beauty in it. I would hope that someone can look at this piece and be reminded that they deserve to feel confident and beautiful in their own skin.
I want to include realistic parts of our bodies that may spark insecurities for many women, like stretch marks, cellulite, extra skin, etc. But, I want to add symbols of beauty to those features. For example, I was thinking of drawing them in the shapes of butterflies and flowers. I am planning on using mirrors/reflections to draw contrast between the beautiful reality of our bodies vs. the evil way by which our minds can trick us into perceiving ourselves as otherwise. In many images, the image in the reflection of the mirror will be dark, designed with dark colors and negative imagery, while the presence on the outside of it will be bright and filled with bright colors and beautiful,uplifting imagery.
Comments