From Wearable Words to Identity
I had many different ideas for the next project. Too many, actually. The real challenge was choosing one direction.
Then another artist mentioned the brand Empório Aragão, which works with contemporary artists and turns their art into wearable pieces. When I looked at their website, I was fascinated by the idea of clothing as a canvas, where art, fashion, and personal expression come together.
I couldn’t let go of the idea. If clothing can become a canvas for identity, then words could become something people wear as a statement about themselves.
That thought immediately connected with something I had been thinking about for years: I always wanted to create a phrase that could only be read in a mirror.
So, I combined the two thoughts.
The first phrase came to me right away: “Don’t simplify me.” It felt powerful and personal. It captured how people often reduce others to labels and quick judgments, missing the real person underneath.
At first, I pictured the phrase written on a dress. But as I started sketching, I noticed I was only thinking about decoration—how the words would look on fabric or how someone might wear them. I paused and realized the idea needed more room. It didn’t fit on a dress; it belonged on a canvas. That decision changed the whole direction of my work.
How I Made Identity Impossible to Read
Instead of making just one piece, I started to imagine a series of three works, each looking at identity and labeling in a different way. I searched for two more phrases that would fit with the same idea. Eventually, I found them: “I am not linear” and “You don’t define me.”
Each phrase then became the starting point for its own visual experiment, guiding how I would play with form, perception, and reading.
Each phrase then became the starting point for its own visual experiment, guiding how I would play with form, perception, and reading.
For “I am not linear”, I want to use typoglycemia — the pheonmeon wehre the brain can stlll raed wrods even wehn the ltteers insdie tehm are dsitorted. This reflects cognitive bias: our minds automatically fill in gaps and assume meaning, even when the information is distorted.
For “You don’t define me,” I explore direction and distortion of reading. I challenge the standard left-to-right mechanics of English by introducing alternative reading directions. By borrowing from non-Western reading systems, I highlight how cultures organize and categorize individuals, ultimately questioning the structures that attempt to define us.
And “Don’t simplify me” works through mirroring. The phrase can only be read through a mirror, so the viewer literally sees themselves while trying to read it. This connects to the psychological idea of mirroring, where identity is formed through how others reflect us back to ourselves.
I titled this artwork "Identity: The Failure of Reading."
The triptych explores how we “read” people the way we read text — quickly, automatically, and often incorrectly. Language becomes a tool to reveal how perception works, and how easily it can fail.
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[Part II — The Making] · [Part III — The Meaning] · [Read the complete story]
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