This self-portrait was created by developing a digital 3D model, then slicing it into vertical cross-sections, then cutting those profile cross-sections out of recycled cardboard and attaching them. The cardboard is my personally recycled cardboard, a couple of Amazon boxes, a pizza box, and some moving boxes that I saved, making this a demonstration of my own consumption. We all have portraits of our consumption. Likenesses of ourselves that are composed of our waste. The products and product packaging we discard are indicators of our habits, preferences, lifestyle, and even personality. Amazon boxes and a pizza delivery box may denote an antisocial person, who has materials brought to them, reluctant to go out themselves. Moving boxes? A nomadic type? But generally, our portraits are out of sight. We pass them to the trash or recycling workers–no longer our problem. Yet it is. So perhaps the best way to understand that is to first be aware of our portraits of consumption. Make them visible, so we uncover how we may alter our self-image, our portrait, to be less damaging to the environment or others, and in the process, we just might get to know ourselves better.
