Self Portrait 2020

The Purpose of Portraits

Portraits have been around for thousands of years. From paintings to sculpture to photographs, portraits have been there, not only to show us what someone looked like, but the soul and spirit of that individual.

Self Portrait 2020 - NFS

Size: 8x10”
Medium: Ink and colored pencils on illustration board.

In 2020, I painted and illustrated the first self-portrait since my university years. It was time. It was a rough year for everyone. Especially, but not limited to, minorities. Minorities are often depicted in media as the enemy, a stereotype or a victim, but never the hero. In 2020 we saw an unbearable increase in hate crimes.

In this piece, I aimed to capture my heartbreak and my hope.

Asian women continue to be exoticized and othered in media and in real life. We are constant victims of sexual racism. This piece was completed at a time when six Asian-American women were killed in a hate crime, by a man who justified his killings as “ridding himself of temptation.” I did this piece in solidarity with those women and their families, portraying myself in traditional Kabuki makeup. The patterns and designs I chose are typical of the hero character, not the villain, not the victim.

—T.G.Novy