This project was started as a school project, but ended up being one of my greatest works. My three subjects, Tanika, Jen, and Maddy are my friends and family. I interviewed them about what they struggle with the most that nobody sees, and came up with two concepts for each model. For Tanika, she struggles with epilepsy and depression. Her epilepsy is so strong and awful, she’s covered in scars from falling and hurting herself. We highlighted her seizure-related scars in neon paint to emphasize the damage she sustains daily. Her depression we symbolized with hand prints all over her upper body. She described her depression as “crushing”, and feels like she’s constantly under pressure because of it. 

For Jen, she said anxiety and PTSD are her main ailments. A “storm cloud “ in her head is how she describes her anxiety, unable to clear away the clouds when they get tumultuous. Due to some life events in her past, she ended up with PTSD. Even though she’s in therapy, there are things she feels she can’t let out; things she doesn’t have the words to say. Represented by neon orange “tape” across her mouth, this portrait is a symbol of both her reluctant silence and her resilience through it all. 

And Maddy, a real trooper. Life hit her hard during her senior year at high school when she developed Tourette’s syndrome. Her stress and constant mental battles left her in shambles at the beginning of her Tourette’s journey. The words and sounds spilled out of her mouth at every inopportune moment, making life hard to navigate and deal with. After the syndrome developed more, she felt like she lost a part of her identity. All anyone ever saw of her first would be her Tourette’s, and felt invisible as it started to define her to others.