I have started to compile a list of ‘I’ statements that describe who I am. I thought that if traditional self-portraits were too limited in scope to say something meaningful about who I am; beyond what I look like, then what about a series of statements that comprehensively describe everything about me (both seen and unseen).
- I am a son
- I am a brother
- I am an uncle
- I am a father
- I am a cousin
- I am a son-in-law
- I am a Christian
- I am mixed-race
- I am a brother-in-law
- I am a husband
- I am an employee
- I am a manager
- I am teetotal
- I am a registered voter
- I am an Art Psychotherapist
- I am a driver
- I am an organ donor
- I am 33
- I am tax payer
- I am a British citizen
- I am a university graduate
- I am a commuter
- I am a Londoner
- I am football supporter
- I am a worrier
- I am a daydreamer
- I am a pacifist
- I am an introvert
- I am a non-smoker
- I am male
- I am a cyclist
- I am heterosexual
- I am a godfather
- I am right-handed
- I am slow
- I am medium build
What was interesting about this exercise was that these descriptions only make sense as a compilations of statements spoken or read together. As individual statements they say very little about me or recount general descriptions that might be true of anyone – male, average build, mixed race). Their power lies in in their grouping/ combination as well, as the statements that are left out or left unsaid. Writing these descriptions down also makes me wonder if each of the 36 statements have equal weighting or if some statements are more important than others. If so, does the list need to be reordered in some way?
Given more time, I also wonder what other things I could think to say about myself or how this list might change over time.