For some people, maintaining a positive body image can be a lifelong challenge. In a series of complex paintings called Skin, 19-year-old photographer & mixed media artist Rosanna Jones explores how body image–whether positive or negative–can unconsciously affect identity.
The project was inspired by this Franois de La Rochefoucauld quote: “We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.” How we feel about our own skin color, body shape, hair, eye color, and even age can affect how we present ourselves to the world. Through the project, Jones questions ideas of beauty in regards to how a person feels internally compared to how a person is perceived by the outside world.
Each composition is a mix of paints layered on top of a digital photo collage. Jones works with a palette of pastels that blend with the subject’s body. The striking colors and milky white skin merge together in a blur of alluring disfigurement.
