Any individual, at any time, has a huge number of “selves.” Some of these personas are private, and some personas are meant to be seen—these public faces are often curated, censored, and can sometimes be quite distant from a person’s private self. However, these public personas continue to be a vital part of one’s identity. The whole of all of these personas can be combined into a single portrait of one’s identity.
With reference to symbolic Dutch Still Life paintings, "i, abroad" is a collection of still life photographs and mundane ephemera intended to create a self-portrait in the form of a publication. Through this project, the artist is also confronted with understanding their own desires, underlying motivations, and self-perception.
This publication is not bound, referencing the concept that one's identity is fluid and ever-shifting. The interior pages are made of transparency, as one’s true self is composite and consists of every aspect of their multiple identities. The exterior is meant to resemble a simple mailing envelope, calling upon the significance of snail mail during the artist's time away.
Outside influences inform individual identity. The things we surround ourselves with teach us how to act. Everything we take in informs who we are and how our personas are presented. In turn, this impacts what our true identities are, and how we might come to understand them better. There is always more than the strictly curated persona that you see.