This art exhibit in the McCoy Gallery looks to discover how high school and college-aged students see themselves through the lens of self-portraiture.
This art exhibit looks to explore the question: who are you? By utilizing self-reflection, we can discover how cultural, political, economical, and/or societal pressures can morph and change one’s view on themselves and the world around them. Through self-portraiture, both literal or metaphorical, artists dive into discovering themselves and how they see the world around them.
Aiming to get responses from the younger generation, artists from both Merrimack College and high schools around the North Andover area were asked to create and submit a piece of work that would answer the question. The schools that participated were: North Andover High School, Methuen High School, Essex North Shore Agriculture and Technical School, Phillips Academy Andover, and Merrimack College.
The artistic responses that were received are all unique and thought-provoking responses off of a shared prompt. These pieces were created with various mediums and were put on display. The responses ranged from both subject matter and overall emotion; from dealing with the pressures of the beauty industry to the idea of falling in love with life. However, some pieces shared the same experiences and sources of inspiration: the COVID-19 pandemic, eating disorders, disassociation, and more. The pieces both are happy and bring fond memories, while others are hard to look at and process.
Along with a physical gallery, an online presence was created for people to learn more about the artists and their works. An overall site featured information about the gallery and the prompts, while individual web pages were designed to highlight every artist and their piece. To view this site, please visit www.laurenpardue.com/i-am-exhibit and www.laurenpardue.com/i-am-artwork.
