Constructing Identity

Identity is an extremely complex concept that is influenced by many factors around it. In the reading Social Psychology of Identities, Judith Howard writes, “At the most basic level, the point is simply that people actively produce identity through their talk. Many studies (generally ethnographic) analyze identity work through everyday interaction.” Howard emphasizes the role of the environment that we live in as one of the big building blocks of our identity. Our identities develop through the daily interactions and the things we surround ourselves with. 

One of the pieces that represent this idea is a painting/collage by Sophie Matisse Weather or Not, 2014. She created it by being inspired by her grand-grandfather Henri Matisse and by Marcel Duchamp’s styles of creating an artwork. The artwork includes pieces of cutouts from the magazines like letters and numbers, reflecting on the everyday objects Sophie is surrounded with and how they end up constructing not only her artwork, but also become part of her. By bringing influences of the past artists together, referencing history and the things that she was surrounded with, Sophie builds her own voice and identity as an artist. 

As a photographer I am constantly influenced by the things I see around me on the daily basis. My identity is constructed from the little fragments of the surrounding environment. Similar idea is portrayed in the artwork Through My Eyes, 2019 by Erica Chung, where the young artist demonstrates the camera being the main focus of the painting. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this work was created by 15-year-old high school student, who was not only able to show off her amazing painting skills, but also input such a complex narrative behind it. Erica made a camera lens physically come out to the viewer by building it from cardboard, which not only grabbed my attention, but also talks about the idea of trying to capture and dive in into the bigger picture of the world, discovering not only surroundings, but also the effect that they have on the shaping of her identity. The fact that her eyes are not physically present in the painting, rather her camera lens playing that role speaks about her way of learning about the environment and shaping her identity. 

Another quote by Howard reflects an important role that society plays in the construction of identity. She writes, “Asserting that a category “race” would not exist without racist ideology, Hopkins et al (1997) argue that racialized categories are socially constructed, and they argue for a social psychology that focuses on the social processes through which categories are constructed, including the power relationships and social practices that affect who is able to act on the basis of their category constructions, make them heard, and impose them on others.” Race is a term created by society where people who are in power determine which race is superior to the others. Race is a part of constructed identity, because of the society that creates it. But in order to avoid being labeled, the one who is in power in a relationship should acknowledge weaknesses or inferiority of the other and create a coexisting space so both of the identities develop equally. Such equality and interdependence is shown in the work Repair, 2017 by Kevan Lunney. He creates a complex artwork by combining different materials like yarn and neon light, glass and aluminum. All of them play an important role of holding and supporting each other. If one of them becomes superior or opposite, fails, the bonds will break, creating holes and inequalities. This structure demonstrates the importance of communication, compassion and teamwork, which should exist in society that will benefit positive changes in the construction of identities. 

The building and shaping of identity includes assigning labels by the society that is surrounding groups of people. And usually when people cannot assign a label to someone, they become uncomfortable, question and want to clarify something that seems ambiguous to them. In the article “Beyond the narrow expectations of gender”, KerryManders includes stories of people who do not want to conform to one box, and just want to embrace their unique identities without free of labels. One of the participants writes, “I do not want to be pulled into one gender, I want to embrace both but also be in between and not be either; because I feel that gender is a social construct and we’ve created them to separate people.”The artwork that follows the same thinking is Soundsuit, 2015 by Nick Cave. Artist created a complex costume consisting of thousands of beads and the combination of materials that cover the entire “body” of the human. Furthermore, the face of the person is also hidden, surrounded by the scope of different colorful objects. In that sense, race, ethnicity, and skin color – all the labels that we are used to assigning to others are hidden and are ambiguous. This artwork goes against the expectation of fitting into the boxes assigned from birth, but rather embracing the uniqueness of the individual, the chaos of objects that make sense only to him. 

An artwork that summarizes where the construction of identity comes from and where it is shaped is Cyclopticon, 2003 by Fred Tomaselli. In his painting he explores the complexity of the human mind. By demonstrating the physical human qualities, mixing them and putting them in the hallucination-like environment, Tomaselli explores the elements that make up a human being. The complexity, chaos and terror-like feeling of the painting speaks about the way humans operate, constantly changing, creating social constructs and labels, and developing own identity shaped by the environment. 

Nick Cave. Soundsuit, 2015.

Fred Tomaselli. Cyclopticon, 2003

Kevan Lunney. Repair, 2017.

Sophie Matisse. Weather or Not, 2014.

Erica Chung. Through My Eyes.