My Self Portrait

Having done research looking into Elizabethan symbolism and how we still use said symbols in the 21st century we were set the task of creating our own self portrait. I found that colours, places and objects all represented different things and they continue to do so today and within our portraits we were to include objects that represent who we are.

Surprisingly I found it quite difficult at first to think of things that would show who I am and what I hold dear. Its like when you join a new club or class and you’re put on the spot to tell everyone something about yourself and you begin to question everything you’ve ever done because you haven't got a straight answer. I started thinking about what I like to do and my hobbies. A big part of my life has been competitive cheerleading. I had been part of the same team for 9 year before coming here and also competed with the all star UK team at the world championships in 2012. This was something that I felt I wanted to incorporate into my image as my uniform shows that I am an athlete and that I am loyal and dedicated to my team. My uniform is purple and black and gold, colours that represent power, wealth and ambition.

I made a lot of friends through joining my team and they are like a second family to me. I have various items of jewellery that have been given to me by some of my closest friends which I rarely ever take off in fear of losing something that means so much. I wanted to include these in my image as although they aren’t symbolic in the same way that jewellery usually would be they hold a lot of meaning to me. I also wanted to incorporate something to do with my love for makeup and hair design despite it being quite obvious due to the course I’m on and thats why I have included my favourite Mac brush into the picture.