Philippa Gaughan

Portrait Perception

A series of 6 portraits painted based on knowledge of the subject obtained through interviews and interpersonal relationships.

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My thesis centers around using portraiture to gain a deeper understanding of how we perceive others. Each portrait is a depiction of how I view the subject based on my relationship with them. My subjects included two close friends, two acquaintances, and two strangers.

We collect people throughout our lives, each with an individual story, that we can only interpret through the information given to us. Sometimes that information can be obtained through a deep personal connection, like the secrets you and your childhood best friend told each other while up late at a sleepover. Other times all there is to work with is one’s outward appearance, such as their fashion choices, and a few sentences exchanged.

Someone’s physical appearance can change based on what I know of them as a person. Lately, I have noticed that I can’t tell if anyone I haven’t known personally is attractive. I see strangers on the street or on social media and can’t decipher what they look like to me. There’s a well-known idea that one’s physical appearance can change based on their personality. An objectively beautiful person can become unattractive when accompanied by an ugly personality, but this idea goes further than that. Sometimes a lack of connection with a person can lead us to not understanding what they look like at all.

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