My main goal for this piece was to create something ambitious. I am drawn to repeating patterns, and find them all the more interesting when they are cleverly broken. After brainstorming, I decided I wanted to use repetition to symbolize stereotype and create a sense of claustrophobia. I hand-drew each figure, starting with a skewed grid of circles and adding detail carefully by referencing other parts of the body. The piece was then scanned and colored digitally.
The central figure is depicted in crisis surrounded by duplicates, representing feelings of disconnect from one's perceived identity and the struggle of masking in order to fit into expected social norms. I chose to make the character a stereotypical anime cat girl to play into this theme, as they are often typecast as silly, sexualized playthings without any agency.
Graphite + digital color; 8" x 10" on 9" x 12" page
