Learning About Myself
Laser-cut acrylics, Magnifying glass
2020
I was inspired by a Chinese belief that an invisible red thread connects all people who are destined to meet. I was inspired by The Johari Window Model, a method to improve self-awareness and personal development. Each window pane signifies information that is known or unknown to oneself or others.
I was also inspired by moving particles from my science classes. I decided to play with light and shadows when projecting the acrylics. The sequence of the holes starts small, then gets bigger, and then returns to smaller forms (from left to right, first roll then second roll). It symbolizes our lack of understanding of ourselves, to more and more understanding, until one point (the biggest circle) where we think we know everything, but there are still hidden characteristics that we cannot detect.
FROM https://www.communicationtheory.org/the-johari-window-model/
1. Open Area
The backdrop is rice paper because the textured surface contrasts the geometric shapes. The open area is what everyone knows about me, including myself. Therefore, the acrylics are clearly arranged and can be seen from all angles.
2. Blind Spot
The blind spot is what I do not know about myself, but other people do. The acrylics are stacked on each other so it is hard to see the patterns on each piece. A lens is on top of the stack, symbolizing my attempt to look for my traits that I am unaware of.
3. Hidden Area
I extended the length of the base and put in all the acrylic pieces. The shadow creates frames and overlaps the circles. The depth of the shadows guides the viewers to search further for the hidden area.
4. Unknown
The pieces of acrylics are put down randomly on top of each other. The randomness symbolizes aspects that no one knows about me.
5. Who I Think I Am
This is an extension to The Johari Window Model, where I define who I am. Each lev- el presents an aspect of me (from bottom to top): organized and disciplined, creative and sensitive, emotional and spontaneous. Lenses are added to create a variety of shadows and the photos aresaturated to create a different futurisitc look.
