Priya Shenoy

The Fluidity of Identity

Facets explores the fluidity of identity through what I learn and experience that shapes different stages of my life. Using paper-cut collage and painting, I create three mixed-media, interpretive self-portraits that explore themes of insecurity, migration to a new country, and education and graduation. Through these portraits, I aim to show that identity isn’t fixed; it develops as the world is navigated.

I position each figure in an imaginative setting to show my perspective on each stage of my life. The use of inkjet papercut collage is a response to each stage, adding real-life imagery in the figures’ clothes to show the foundational experiences that influence my feelings, adaptability, and future. I conceal the figures through masks, sunglasses, and specific posing to display the sense of identity purely through the collaged imagery and experience.

I use collage to show that identity is an evolving construct. By using personal photographs and magazine printouts, I ask viewers what parts of their personality they carry with them and what experiences help them develop and evolve as individuals.