SOPHIA BREMNER

EVITA CIAMPOLINI

Appearance

Appearance is a fundamental aspect of human life. It refers to the physical characteristics or attributes that we possess and how we choose to present ourselves to the outside world. The desire to appear a certain way significantly impacts our lives, both positively and negatively, and it influences how others perceive us. Appearance refers to aspects such as clothing, hairstyle, skin color, facial features, body shape, or overall physical exterior. In this exhibition, I explored the value placed on female appearance by examining the various ways in which it impacts how we view ourselves and others.

Images of thin, proportioned, beautiful people are posted all over the internet, in magazines, advertisements, and on TV. The visual media defines our concept of beauty, setting a standard by which we, the audience, measure ourselves. This feeling of measuring ourselves against an ideal standard is universal, but mostly felt by adolescents who are most impressionable to the influences of visual media. Nevertheless, comparison is present at any age. My aim is to portray the powerful influence this beauty ideal has over how we perceive others, and also how we view ourselves.

My first piece, How would you like me to be? conveys to the viewer my experience of comparing myself to conventional standards of beauty. I used my physique as the subject to emphasize the personal impact that this comparison has had on me. Through this artwork I want to show that we are judged as to how our appearance measures up against conventional standards not just by others, but also by ourselves. This attempt to achieve an idealized standard of beauty leads us to use masks to hide or distort our true selves in order to gain acceptance. This is why I’ve shown myself with various alterations, to show how we distort and mask our true appearance to achieve this ideal and gain acceptance.

All my pieces convey my personal experience with the concept of appearance. I invite the viewer to establish a personal connection as I guide the viewer through various manifestations of the concept of appearance. Displaying my pieces in a linear fashion allows the viewer to go on this journey. The final piece, the Natural Passing of Time, highlights my final thought about appearance, which accepts the natural progression of life where there is no longer a need to appear, but just to be.