acrylic on canvas

23.5” W x 31.25” H

2025

“Torso” is a piece that exaggerates the male form, with an amplified chest and highly defined abs that push the body beyond realism. Although it is presented as a self-portrait, I don’t recognize myself in it when I look back. The body in the work does not reflect my actual physical form.

That distance has led me to reflect on the mindset I was in while creating it. Looking at it now, I can see how I was unconsciously idealizing and altering parts of myself through the work - either as a way of imagining what I looked like, or perhaps as a way of expressing what I felt I should look like in order to be accepted or valued.

It speaks to how subtly our perceptions of ourselves can shift without us fully realizing it. At the time of creating this piece, I genuinely believed I was painting myself. That realization, in hindsight, is what makes the work meaningful to me now.

“Torso” has become a record of that internal disconnect - a moment where self-image, desire, and insecurity blurred together. It reflects something I think many people can relate to in their own way, and it remains an honest part of my personal journey.

$975.00