I do not really feel like I exist as my body but rather in my body. I feel like there is a separation between my self and my flesh and bone, that they are just a part of me in the way my memories and perceptions are. When I think about that concept too much, I begin to feel a physical separation from my body. This piece is an exploration of that feeling of dissociation, both the literal separation I feel from my body at times and the sense of self I have. I wanted to engage and confront this concept through this piece.

Although it is still just a part of my body, I used my head as a representation of the self. My head is where I experience most of my senses, and holds the most of my physical identity. It is much larger than the doll body beneath it to emphasize the disproportionate relationship between the two. The limp and lifeless doll body is meant to be played and interacted with while the head/self passively observes. The viewer aids the isolated body in giving it its own expression and even identity by interacting with it separately from the head/self. I want there to be a contradiction between the body’s expressive non-self and the head’s rigid passivity. Through this contradiction the question can be asked where the self is truly found.