I’m not bringing in like a societal problem or anything big and scary.
Its really just how I feel.
People have been asking me, so is my work just about this childhood-adulthood dilemma. Well, it is, but it is also like almost the loss of self-identity?
When one pictures an adult— mature, thoughtful..
And a child—childish, playful, naïve, innocent...
But when it comes to defining a teenager/adolescent (I hate these words, makes me feel out of place), its just not as easy.
The first thing that popped into my mind, which is what I have been exposed to since young, is rebellious.
And yet people don’t want them to be rebellious. So is there anyway else to describe them?
Sometimes I just don’t know how I should act. Should I go home one day acting slightly crazier and more childish, my family will be like “whats wrong with you, stop being so immature”.
And yet if one night I feel super stressed and can’t sleep because of work, they will say “you’re still young, you don’t have to worry so much about life, have funnn!”
Damn, do you know how frustrating this is? Like people expect you to be this and that and you’ve just got no identity. The way I act around different people are just so different. Am I being paranoid but I almost feel like im leading a double/triple life. One slip and my image in front of a certain party is gone. I believe in front of my close friends and before my parents, I’m somewhat like a totally different person.
People say just be yourself, but I don’t know how.
So this is where the almighty Superman comes in. It almost serves as a self-reassurance, like the force within you that keeps you going on, that little voice that reminds you that it will be alright during the most difficult of times. Everyone has a Superman in their heart. You just have to keep telling yourself that somehow, there will be someway out of this mess. You'll eventually grow out of it. There will be light at the end of the tunnel.
I'm telling myself and everyone else that even when we face such a confusing situation, we just have to calm down, and we don't need to get too worked up or emotional about these problems. And in this case, it reminds us that maybe it is a phase everyone has to go through in their lives somehow. How we go through this phase and some of the decisions made then will define us as who we are in the future. It is when we conquer our fear of being lost, that we can be found. The process of finding our way out of this confusion of self-identity is what that will make us.
I am confused by what I just wrote.
SO, if there are people out there who feel this same way, please join the club, and if there isn’t, well, excuse me while I retreat to me self-pity corner.
Yo Zhiyi! I shall proceed to comment in your signature very casual and boneless style of speech.
ReplyDeleteI think your two paintings reflect your personality very much. And since you mentioned the bit on thinking/behaving differently around different people, I shall talk about that too. Since I think it has great relevance to your paintings.
I think its perfectly normal to think and behave differently around different people, even adopting a completely different set of personality and/or style of speech. Everyone has different personas and behaving differently around different people just means you're trying to cope and adjust to your surroundings. Ultimately you are all of these personalities - having a sense of identity has got nothing to do with what you exhibit outwardly. Sometimes its hard to find your own voice, but its an obstacle everyone faces; nobody expects you to portray yourself as you truly are all the time.
You may think differently. I'm just speaking my mind.
I also think that being a little selfish is good. That means you're putting your needs above other people's.
On to your paintings: I think the two paintings portray two different sides of you. The one with the Superman, it seems more appealing, a little more free and less strained, in terms of the feeling you get when you see it. Maybe because you painted it at home; it seems to have been done with far greater enthusiasm. It's unapologetically loud; it's right smack in your face. But then the frown on Superman's face seems to defy and contradict all the cheeriness in the painting. He looks like a child in the shell of an adult sulking and trying to hold on to the remnants of his childhood.
The second painting no longer features a single character as the main subject. Instead you depicted toys, posters, food, flowers and a dress. Even the central subject could be interpreted as either a girl or a doll. The most obvious difference of this painting from your Superman painting is the lines. To me, everything about the second painting seems jaded and depressed, controlled to such an extent that it almost seems undone, compared to your previous painting. That energy is missing; and the girl/doll in the center seems to have lost her direction and became inanimate as she tries to take in all the influence from her surroundings, and tries to adjust. The whole space in the painting appears barren despite the clutter of objects. To me, the painting could well be a glimpse into your perspective of the world.
I like your paintings because I like paintings that have the ability to express and reflect an essential part of their painters. Because I think that is what matters in art.
erhm....im sort of too lazy to read your post since its so long and confusing -.-so i'll interpret them myself :D
ReplyDeleteI WANT YOUR SUPERMAN PAINTING he's hot :P
haha i love how this work is so colourful and vibrant
like the balloons and the pink and yellow background
and i like your pop artish approach
like the thick and bold black outlines around the balloons
i really think your style is very unique and cool
as for the bigger one, ITS SO PINK LIKE YOU
heehee
i feel like i stepped into a princess room
i think it will be cool if this piece can be placed alone in a room painted pink . haha.
your style for both artwork is very different
the superman one is very bold and confident
while the pink one is like every thing is so well-blended and controlled
i guess this is what you want to express? how we are different with different people? i guess everyone show different sides of themselves to different people. its natural.but i sort of see it as something good? like you know when to be totally yourself and crazy and not offend people.