C h e l s e y  V a n d e r V l i e t 

Untitled Identity Project, 2014

Fascinated by the notion of performance in everyday life, this body of work reflects identity’s transformative potential due to social context, bias, and self-awareness. In the presence of others we claim a sense of adaptability, manipulating ourselves into ascribed personas, or exaggerated personalities often perpetuated by our subconscious. This begs the question of whether one can ever have a single, true sense of identity, or if the seemingly “artificial” personas we conform to are any less real in comparison.

Using the form of the album cover, alongside aesthetics embraced by the indie rock music scene, I have developed a series of self-reflexive portrayals in response to this question. Appropriating tropes common to this format and a visual style notorious for a representation of “artfulness,” I seek to suggest a relationship between performance, artifice, and identity. The confining template, coupled with text serving the purpose of self-critique through fictitious band names and album titles results in a rigid space of contemplation, inevitably provoking viewers’ perceptions regarding identity.

The imagery -- often including myself as a model, or items specific to my life -- is meant to evoke a semblance of each persona while the text serves as dialogue and context. Both text and imagery are based upon experiences and memories, filtered through my own bias and self-awareness. Each persona is represented through multiple images as a means of further overwhelming the viewer as to whether or not all or just one is “real.”