Self-Map
The image above is a self-map composed of three separate maps including Houston, Brisbane and Palembang, as well as 4 separate vector images of myself. This is because I am multiracial, being African-American, Indonesian and Australian. The three different ethnicities and cultures combine to influence not only my personal life, but my identity as an emerging designer as I believe it is these differences that contribute to my authenticity, which I strive to acknowledge throughout my career. My identity is also conveyed through this piece as each section represents a whole of myself whilst also being a part of a greater whole, making up the entire person that I am today.
The reason why I have chosen to display myself as three separate wholes to create my entire self is to acknowledge that each part of my racial identity is equally important. The top third is mostly in green to highlight the ‘Brisbane’ part of myself whilst the middle is red for Houston and the bottom blue, for Palembang. These colours were specifically chosen as green represents my youth as Brisbane is the main city I grew up in and still reside. Houston is red as it connotates ‘blood’ to represent my place of birth whilst Palembang is blue since the city’s name roughly translates to ‘land of water’, and as my Indonesian grandmother grew up next to a lake. There are also smaller details included such as the crayon texture in the coloured sections which reiterate the childlike imagery related to my key word of integrity. Additionally, three dried dandelions have been attached to the overall image to connect to the outlined paths of the maps to imitate ‘roots’, both literally (being flower roots) and metaphorically (i.e. where I originated from). As a result, all these elements combine to create a visual representation of myself as an individual, which influences the way I intend to design throughout my future career as a designer.
