Year
2021
Category
Print
2021
Category
Dichotomy of Self
As our lives become increasingly digital, and therefore, more public, the distance between the private and public self has increased. While the private consists of our thoughts, emotions, and actions away from an audience, the public is our performative portrayal of ourselves to the world. How do these two selves coexist? How are we created? Who are we truly?
Rather than answering these questions, Dichotomy of Self examines the complexity of individual identity by physically documenting the process of self-exploration. I approached this process by putting what appear to be mutually exclusive selves in conversation with one another in hopes of exposing connections between the two.
I chose a book because its tangibility invites the reader to become physically and personally involved as they turn, flip, or unfold the pages. A book also offers unique opportunities to deliver my story. As a single individual houses two selves, this book contains a two-sided story. It has neither a defined front nor back. Both sides are an entryway, not an exit. Like identity, the book is simultaneously confined and infinite.
The content of the book focuses heavily on the symbols of selfhood and responds to them through poetry and prose. Although the story is personal, I believe the topics are universal and are meant to invite readers to consider the questions themselves: How do two selves coexist? How are we created? Who are we truly?
The content of the book focuses heavily on the symbols of selfhood and responds to them through poetry and prose. Although the story is personal, I believe the topics are universal and are meant to invite readers to consider the questions themselves: How do two selves coexist? How are we created? Who are we truly?