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Aakou began life as a 3 x 3 inch charcoal portrait on a white post it. She was part of the !00 Day Project, a yearly worldwide creative challenge open to anyone. Begun as an exercise in momentum, in ditching detail and preciousness, by a few weeks in these mini portraits started to gather steam and meaning. I found myself drawn to inspiration shots of women. How much of their inner lives could be packed into a 3 x 3 inch square?

Little women - consigned to tiny spaces yet demanding to be seen in full.

I then blew the post it up to face size and used a photo transfer technique to superimpose it onto a mixed media piece full of mark making and random chaos. The resulting work reveals and conceals simultaneously and invites the viewer to look Aakou directly in the eye.

Rachel Davis

rachel@racheldavisstudio.com