Boxed In
Claire M.
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This art piece is about the specific feeling of being trapped in a box. I think most of us feel confined by something, whether it is people’s expectations or a system that doesn’t fully understand us. Personally, when I made this piece I was thinking about the checkboxes sometimes seen when having to fill out a form that requires personal information. Some categories are easy for me, but for some I never really know what to put. “Gender” and “Ethnicity” are always a little anxiety provoking as there’s no guarantee that there will be option(s) that accurately reflect who I am. I wanted to convey this feeling of panic and indecision by portraying a figure who is quite literally trapped in a box. The red-ish hues imply danger and anxiety, and the use of glass represents the rigidity of the situation. The figure cannot rest and feels the boundaries of the box constantly, which is communicated by the expressive pose that touches all four side of the box.
Due to the piece looking quite different depending on the lighting and background, I included two photos to depict it better. One emphasizes the transparency of the glass and its use as a window, and the other photo shows the true tones of the glass and its texture.
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Expressing my creativity has helped me fight my perfectionism. No matter how many flaws I add to an art piece, it would not be real without my hand. It is imperfect but it exists.
