in past conversations, i have been told to "squish", "pop" and "play with" a variety of items ranging from modeling clay, berries, and an actual model of the human eye. i have thought about this notion of "bursting" and that is not what i want to portray in this piece. burst: "break suddenly and violently apart; an explosion. i don't want to burst, i want to melt. melting: the physical process that causes a substance to change from a solid form to liquid. the internal energy of the solid increases and pushes the object to its "melting point". i want to tie the idea of vulnerability into this. vulnerability is the core, the heart, and center of meaningful human experiences. it involves uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. some may view this as a weakness but in my eyes it is the ultimate strength. it takes courage and fearlessness to truly encompass vulnerability. by having the eyes of this self portrait melt, i want the hard exterior to melt into an raw overflow of emotion and vulnerability. being able to express my intimate feelings/psyche is not something that will suddenly break or explode. this will take much longer to accomplish, which is why i want to melt rather than burst.
- dariancarlovich