Isabella Schwind
Self Portrait
Prompt: With this assignment, we were asked to create a conceptual self-portrait, this was one of the most open-ended assignments I received all year.
This final piece was very personal and felt very representative of my spirit during this time in quarantine, the process was surprisingly emotional for me but helped me to realize a part of myself that I had not been able to acknowledge prior to this assignment and for that reason I also found it to be immensely healing, weirdly. This last image is really my favorite of the photos I took because despite being the most damaged iteration of the candle, the flame is out and the virus has died, leaving holes to be filled by a newer, stronger being. This thought gives me a light at the end of the tunnel, where a stronger, more fearless individual awaits my arrival. In many ways making this piece served as a turning point for my experience with quarantine and it gave me some space to feel excited about its end, for that alone I am grateful and to have a visually interesting set of photos come out of it as well just seems to be the “cherry on top”.
