Typographic Self-Portrait

To explain my self-portrait is to explain myself and the way I behave:

Mi Li has no beginning, and no end. She does not start like a movie, and does not end with credits. When you notice her, however, she is brash and in your face. On the other hand, she is shy about who she is. This is where people will be confused about her identity. Mi Li is an artist, but she will rarely admit it in words. She will show her sketchbook in a quiet gesture, but her artwork usually jumps out, and tends to shock the viewer.

In her work, she tends to prefer customizing her mediums. In the typographic self-portrait, she disguises her writing as art pieces that blow out like puffs of air coming out of her best friend’s mouth and her own mouth. The puffs of smoke are highly decorated letters that she designed. The first puffs say her name. They are vector illustrations that spell out “Mimi Li”. These puffs of smoke are blowing out of a friend’s mouth. He is bright among a giant crowd of people. This represents her obsession with the public’s opinion about her. The next image is Mi Li imitating the shower scene in the old horror film, “Psycho”. She is fearful, and nostalgic. The puffs of smoke come out of her mouth this time. They spell “Augtron” The type she designed is pretty, idealistic and dainty. This represents her view on her object of affection. She projects this idealized version of her lover to the public constantly, as the puffs blow out of her mouth. For Mi Li, her relationship with other humans affect her tremendously.

Finally, in total, she uses two “real” typefaces. They are “Carnevalee Freakshow” & “Saco de Pao” downloaded from DaFont. Carnevalee Freakshow reflects the colourful, childish & strange show that Mimi acts out to counteract the city’s expectation for children to grow up to be yuppies. Saco de Pao is designed in a grunge-style. It reflects back to her first claim to independence and confidence as a person with her own ideas and opinions. To demonstrate her contradicting behaviour, when admitting that she “is an artist”, the words are quickly splattered before the end, as she is shy about her identity. It finishes with a show of artwork, to cover her awkward words. The colourful palette was chosen because her biggest artistic influence is her mother’s vibrant & colourful paintings. Black is Mimi Li when she is depressed and alone. She is not depressed anymore. White is a spiritual place that Mimi Li has not reached yet, and hopes to be worthy of reaching soon. All photos and artwork are created by Mi Li.