[MANCHESTER MET EDITED] Farisya Art Uni Portfolio 2024_2025
Farisya’s Portfolio 2025
This self-portrait, inspired by my time during lockdown, offers a heartfelt exploration of who I am and how time shapes us.As I steered the pressures of maturing, I realised I was still connected to the feelings and behaviours of my younger self. This artwork captures the connection between growth and nostalgia, reflecting that bittersweet tension of childhood experiences I yearn for but may have missed.
Title:Younger Self Portrait, 2020 Size:A4 21cm x 29.7 cm
Medium: Watercolor base with tempera, and color pencils
Completed within six hours, this self-portrait is a raw exploration of self-reflection through rapid mark-making.The pose highlights the expressive versatility of my facial features, while the lifeless gaze contrasts with the complex emotional conflict.This piece also examines how portraiture evolves with time, prompting viewers to reflect on how they perceive identity—both in life and in memory.
Title: 6 hour self portrait
Size:A3
29.7 cm x 42 cm
Medium: Graphite on paper, scanned onA4 printer
This artwork explores the fragmented perception of identity through the contrast of expressing external emotions and (lack thereof) suppressed emotions. Inspired by personal experiences, the composition reflects the transformative effects of medication on my sense of self.The distorted background and narrative eyes portray the fluctuating perspectives of idealism and pessimism in life's journey.This visual language captures the tension between innocence, symbolised by childhood toys, and the burden of adulthood, marked by reliance on medication
Title: Fragmented Self - AStudy of Repression and Expression
Size:A2 42cm x 59.4 cm
Medium: Oil, Graphite,Acrylic and Gouache on Mixed Media
Drawing inspiration from Rose B. Simpson’s sculptures, this piece reflects the infiltration of Western cultural ideals into my Malaysian identity. Referencing Michelangelo's David and Western aesthetics, the work interrogates the erosion of my original culture and the shifting perception of identity within a globalised society.
Title: Exploration of IdentityThrough Cultural Imperialism
Size: 15cm x 16cm x 4cm; 13cm x 15cm x 3.6cm
Medium: Earth clay and polyester clay
Close-up of sculptures
Contact sheets
This is the contact sheet for the sculptures captured in different angles, and my photographic experimentation on my digital composition of the piece.
Drawing from the ‘Two Fridas’ Digital composition of the portrait
This piece explores the dynamic self-acceptance and the struggle for identity, deeply resonating with Kahlo'sTheTwo Fridas. Like Kahlo's portrayal of duality as symbols of her past and present, I used doubles in my self-portrait, layering edited images with cuts from my mother's childhood photos, pierced with a red thread to symbolise my challenges facing my own cultural identity as a multicultural person.
Title: Live Female Nude Studies, focusing on feminine poses and gestures
Size:A3 29.7 cm x 42 cm
Medium: Graphite on toned paper
This is an extensive exploration of the ‘Live female nude studies’ where I build upon the idea of gestural expressions by using layers of paint to depict movement and the play of light and shadow in a still frame. The brushwork drew inspiration from Lucien Freud’s bold layers and starklighting, constructing the body gradually while adhering to the contours of human flesh.
Title: (part of Live female nude studies)
LightAnd Shadow Studies On Human Anatomy
Size:A3 29.7 cm x 42 cm
Medium:Acrylic paint on acrylic
Scale size for reference.
This life-sized exploration of the female body examines vulnerability through dissection-inspired composition.The realistic scale creates an intimate yet confrontational experience, reflecting a biological perspective influenced by the Romantic period's celebration of nature as beauty. By comparing animals and human anatomy, it suggests that such comparisons reinforce the idea of beauty in nature, positioning humans as unnatural beings
Title: Experimented Drawing of Merging Forms Between Humans and Animals
Size: 126 cm x 59.5 cm
Medium: Colour pastel, Colour pencil on black card
Drawing inspiration from Henry Moore and Rose B. Simpson, this sculpture encourages viewers to fill the spaces formed by my body, representing how history, culture, and identity shape the self. It serves as a self-portrait, inviting human experiences (historical, cultural, and personal) to fill the voids that contour to my form, ultimately creating a reflection shaped by the audience's perception.
Title: Sculpture of Self, Inspired by Rose B. Simpson and Henry Moore
Size: 40cm x 60 cm x 18cm
Medium: Modroc, Wire, newspaper
Process
This piece, created using a mould of my own body, represents my connection to cultural conflict and serves as a bridge between identities. Inspired by Rose B. Simpson, I invite the audience to fill the gaps in my body with their own interpretations, shaped by personal experiences. Using Modroc and layers of tape, I crafted this work as an intimate exploration of self-reflection.
Visualisation of sculpture in different environments
My reinterpretation of Carolingian history critiques authoritarian power, focusing on King Louis the Pious. I removed Saint John the Evangelist from the Carolingian illustration “Saint John the Evangelist with Eagle, Lorsch Gospels (9th century), along with the eagle and tree, symbolizes the removal of religious validation.This shift reflects on secularism and the role of human agency in modern leadership and power.This is further emphasised through the illustration overlaying the modern newspaper to make this situation more relevant.
Title: Carolingian Reinterpretation of Absence in Power
Size: 21cm 29.6cm
Medium: Watercolor on tempera, newspaper, ribbon
Title: Observational Sketches of Identity in Everyday Life
Size: B5 17.6 × 25 cm
Medium: Pencil and ink on paper
Captured in hospitals, cafes, and trains, these observational studies explore human identity and behavior. Inspired by Mead's concept of "self," where identity forms through social interactions and self-perception, the works reflect how individual actions and mannerisms reveal broader social and cultural narratives, emphasizing human connections and their role in shaping society’s view of its people.
This painting critiques the commodification of identity in a globalised world. Saturated colours highlight the tension between individuality and conformity, illustrating the helplessness of adapting to societal expectations while grappling with the loss of personal agency.
Title: Modernity and Me
Size:A1 59.4 cm x 84.1 cm
Medium: Oil on Wood
Time: 15 Hours
Initial sketch and composition
Painting Process During 15 hours
Title: Prototype (3 hours)
Size: 21 cm x 44.5 cm
Medium: Oil on Wood panel
Inspired by Giacomo Balla’s Flight of the Swallows, 1913, I aimed to capture the rapid movement of flight and its interaction with the surrounding environment.The still frame of the sculpture represents energy on the verge of release, ready to generate movement and velocity.
Title:AFlight of Doves
Size: ~22cm x 37.5x 6, 18.5cm x 33cm x 4.3, 41cm x 22cm x 4cm, 21cmx 9cm x 17cm 21cm x 10cm x 24 cm, 28cm x 16cm x 6cm, 18cm x 40cm x 5cm ,
Medium: clay, MODROC, Cardboard, styrofoam
Sculpture visualisation (work in progress)
My study of aviation movement of the dove is shown through the series of birds, inspired by Muybridge's film of the horse race.The layered spray paint is the representation of energy transmitted by each movement of the bird.
