Representational Art

Through life I remember the moments and the faces of the random people that have looked at me and labeled me as a “problem,” just for my body art. I remember walking around a store and being followed from entry to exit. I’m am sometimes baffled on the idea of how my expressive markings can provoke such behavior and fear. In this project I aim to demonstrate the beauty of permanent art. More specifically body art. What compels a person to make a life time decision like getting a tattoo? And what exactly devalues an establishment that possesses drawings and markings? I strive to answer these questions through my photography. I will be photographing people with tattoos surrounded by an environment displaying its own form of expression. I want to convey confidence with expression and posture. Vibrant colors are essential as well as details. Producing sharpened images with dynamic dramatic lighting consistently across the images. I also will contrast my foreground of a tattooed model with the background of a wall of art.

These editorial portraits are representational and will communicate the cohesion of expressive drawings, wether it being body or wall, and how they do not depict a negative or a troubled person. I want to show that the “self destruction” can be the deepest form of self love and confidence. Everyday, positive, and happy people in their truest form. Sometimes having to cover up for work or social reasons, but still respectful. This current world is changing toward the positive light of accepting. These images function in favor for the acceptance of the positive and beautiful nature of body modification. Because ultimately, the permanent form of art becomes a form of identification.