In my opinion, self-portrait is an expression of the self, made by the self. It can depict your self-perception, or how you want others to perceive you. In this assignment, we can showcase different sides of us such as our tastes and preferences with regards to food/music/etc, our heritage, and even small things like what we like.

I have a few ideas with regards to what quirks of mine I would like to shine through for this assignment.

I like going to supermarkets for fun. It’s relaxing to see things in rows, arranged neatly under bright white fluorescent lights. It makes me happy to see spices in little bottles and fancy instant noodles. It delights me to compare nutrition labels on milk and trying to see which one would benefit me most. The jam isle is the most fascinating with many different kind of jams packed with visuals reminiscent of a quaint English countryside. The best part is, they’re all so cheap. These are all the guilty purchases that you never have to pay too much for. My eyeshadow palette costs easily four times that fancy St Dalfour forest fruits jam. My perfume costs twenty times more. The supermarket gives me the high of being all hoity-toity without the guilt of being financially irresponsible.

I’m a cheapskate. I like free wedding and event buffets. I like free performances at Esplanade. I don’t like alcohol not because they taste horrible but simply because they’re expensive (at least here in Singapore). I fool myself into thinking I don’t like eating fancy food outside because I always feel like I don’t want to spend my money on it.

 

I like food in general (super not picky), and weird food specifically.  Corn ice cream (ice potong here in Singapore). Preserved beancurd. Oatmeal. Unsweetened green tea. But I will also eat anything you offer me for free.

I’m a Broadway/West End musical bootlegger. I email people for recordings of Matilda the Musical. I watch Hamilton through a pixellated shaky camera recording. Thank God it had subtitles because Lin Manuel Miranda’s rapping was really crazy. I don’t have the money to go to NYC or London to see them first-hand, nor the money to buy tickets, so bootlegged recordings circulating the Internet will have to do for now.

Lastly, I’m Indonesian, but I do not find this interesting nor do I care about my heritage very much. It’s an okay country in my experience, except for the food. Even I know the food is good. Public transport’s quite horrible, and there be floods abound in Jakarta. So, no.

In conclusion, I feel that what I am is an embodiment of the adage that humans will never be satisfied. I’m always hungry for more (food), wanting more (authentic Broadway experience), and in need of more (money so I can get even more food).

I will update with more illustrations and thumbnail sketches for the self-portrait but for now, this will be it.