Music-Shaped Self | Mad House '10

Graduation is a wrap and my time at Seneca College has been one wild ride! 🎓 I can hardly believe it's over, but I'm excited to see what the future holds! To finish off in style, I got to showcase my artwork at the incredible collective illustration exhibition at Gallery 1313! 💫 The experience was amazing, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my work with others.

My exhibit was titled "Music-Shaped Self", a series of four self-portraits that celebrates my journey of self-discovery through sound. As part of the creative process, I went on a four-year journey, exploring the music I listened to at intervals of 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022, to create a visual essay that showcases the relationship between the sounds that moved me and the visual elements that make up each of the self-portraits.

The first piece in the series is titled "Mad House '10", inspired by the experimental but emotional and dark sounds that ruled my world at the beginning of the past decade. It was a time where Rated R by Rihanna shook my world and introduced me to the power of music. The haunting sounds of M.I.A., Natalia Kills, and Lady Gaga made me fall head over heels in love with music that tackled difficult topics and offered a healing balm to the soul.

So, to celebrate this phase of my life and the journey that led me here, I created this first artwork. The piece boasts a moody colour palette, abstract and pointy elements that are sharp like a knife, and an overall messy aesthetic that captures the chaotic but beautiful nature of my life at that time. ✨

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Doug Rodas
Creative Director & Illustrator
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