Rooms left Behind

“Home is where the heart is” is probably the most cheesy thing I’ve ever heard, yet it makes sense. A person’s home consists of mirrors of their life, a reflection of themselves. This is especially true in your bedroom if you live with your parents. Because bedrooms are particularly more private, your room represents you and your most intimate self. Essentially, a person’s room can be represented as a self portrait. This is what I wanted to portray in my work. 

The work itself is a representation of my current room. The bedroom is crammed with objects representing so many different things. The majority of the objects are quite straightforward, leaving the viewer to decided on which parts have more value. 

I initially wanted to showcase my room as my experiences, change, and growth during college. I planned on achieving this by painting my room with a variety of objects symbolizing different aspects and levels of importance during this time of my life. As I was painting, I realized how difficult it actually was for me to paint my room. I had trouble thinking of things to add that had a slight importance. The more I worked on it, the more I realized how I had lost all my interest and connection to my original idea. 

To me, my bedroom is just a room. I’ve been in and out of houses and apartments for as long as I can remember. I have moved a total of 13 times in my life and will be off to university in the fall. Because I was constantly moving, I never felt a personal attachment to the rooms I had. I have friends who have lived in the same homes their whole lives. Even though their room might have changed styles over time, they grew up there so it is normal to feel any sort of attachment to it. My room never had that much of an importance to me. It isn’t the room itself but what it holds, and what will follow me to the next place.