The people that surround us play an inevitable role in the way our lives are shaped, including the people that may appear as strangers. I focus on those quiet, uncomfortable moments where the viewer’s eyes meet the eyes of the canvas. In those moments, it appears the canvas is about to speak, but the viewer is left with only silence and a subtle stare. These stares contain a slight hint of recognition, but the discomforting feeling of not being able to place a face of where it has been seen before. The repetition of the same figure in multiple portraits solidifies the feeling of déjà vu.

In this Portrait Series, I paint portraits derived from a collection of Polaroids. The compact size of the panel allows for the portraits to be displayed in close proximity to one another. This allows for the series to keep expanding, and creating a further uncomfortable tension of faces staring at the viewer. The use of Polaroids as a reference creates an intensely dark background that highlights the figures as if they are coming out of the shadows, while also reminiscent of the “one shot” moment frozen in time.