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How can I use Maslow's hierarchy of needs to investigate my personal growth as an artist? What connections can I make between the hierarchy and my own experiences in life? Have I matured as a person and artist throughout my compositions? I use various collage techniques paired with acrylic and non-art materials to explore these ideas through self-portraiture, ultimately seeking to document my dual journeys as an individual and as a creator. 

 

These techniques are not simply tools for producing works but also symbolic representations of the process of growth. Plaster allows me to create depth and physicality that cannot be achieved through two-dimensional materials. Low-relief collage builds on itself incrementally, much in the same way that Maslow sees the path to self-actualization as steps on a pyramid. Digital recreations of old artwork reflect both a modernization of previous work but also a level of dehumanization. Incorporation of textiles and photographs from my family in Peru underscores how my culture and heritage provide a backdrop on top of which my personality evolved.

Through this process I gained new skills and perspectives, new ways of expressing myself. As I continued my self-exploration, the very exercise itself changed me. This is reflected in the tones of the compositions, which do not take a linear path from uncertainty to clarity but rather alternate between grayed-out, dour tones and brighter, more positive ones as I move up the pyramid. A final question sticks with me as I look back at the journey: is the end I reached the same goal I had at the beginning, or did it move along the way?