Amber Lee
Farah
Prompt: Work one-on-one with a classmate to create an artistic expression that represents your peer. Through deep listening, observation, and dialogue, you will translate what you learn about another person into a 2D, 3D, or 4D portrait. This project asks you to consider: How do we see and represent each other? What does it mean to be witnessed and to witness? How can artmaking become a form of care, curiosity, and connection?
This piece explores how identity and memory can be held within objects. After learning that my partner practiced ballet for 15 years, I became interested in how discipline, repetition, and personal history shape a person over time. I created a pair of paper-mâché ballet shoes that serve as both a symbol of her experience and a container for it.
Inside the shoes, I placed photographs from her life including family, childhood, and moments connected to ballet, turning the interior into a small archive. While the exterior reflects the visible discipline and performance of ballet, the inside holds a quieter and more personal history behind it.
Through this process, I focused on listening carefully and representing her story with accuracy and respect rather than assumption. Influenced by readings like Girl by Jamaica Kincaid, the project reflects on how identity is shaped by lived experience and the narratives surrounding us. The piece considers how objects can carry memory and how understanding others requires empathy and attention.