Familiar Reflections

Victoria Henderson

Year 11

School: Perth Modern School

Medium: Oil on canvas

Artist statement: My work explores the concept of identity and how it is shaped. It’s a common saying that ‘we ultimately become our parents’ and as much as teenagers and adolescents–oppose–this view and vow to be different, there are some parts of our identity which cannot be changed. This is likely due to the influence of our parents and the way they raise us. My self-portrait features both my reflection and the reflections of my parents in the mirrored doors of a bathroom cabinet. My portrait provides a literal representation of how we ‘reflect’ our parents both in physicality and behaviour. The similarities in facial features and the internal similarities are represented through the objects¬†on the cabinet.shelves. I look in the mirror of my bathroom cabinet daily, mostly looking straight ahead; however, always aware of the reflections on either side of me. The effects of parents on children are not always immediately noticeable but are always present on closer inspection.