World of Colors

Nikki Rae

 

The following is a collection of photos I had the opportunity of snapping for one of my classes while attending the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. The series is a culmination of my experiences in the country and inspiration form Andy Warhol. I started out with a pretty clear image in my head of what I wanted to do - colourful and happy, much like some of Warhol’s celebrity portraiture. However, as time went on, I became somewhat fascinated by the face paint of the Aboriginal tribes in Australia. The Australian natives have used body paint over time to create a sort of “paint” language to make a unique dialogue that is all their own, which is a trait that I both admire and wanted to give homage to through my work. At USC I lived in an international student area, filled with fascinating people from around the world. I decided to use people from different backgrounds as my subjects for this reason. In a sense the paint represents my Australia—a uniting factor for all these different people and cultures. The project was something whimsical, colourful and completely fascinating. I like each piece because I feel that they have their own feeling and life. Every person has their own complexities that come from their background and individuality but still have the potential to make one beautiful picture overall when brought together with others. That is what I appreciate most.   

 

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” -Andy Warhol

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Hopeful Love

Sierra Sweet

 

TThe Eiffel Tower is a monument known by the world to represent the “City of Love;” the one and only Paris. In our own culture, when we think of love our thoughts go to red hearts and roses, and to think that even though Paris is an ocean away, the symbols of love, even in a different language are the same. This rose, abandoned in the cold in front of the Eiffel tower, to me, was a symbol of hopeful love. One of the most known monuments in all the world, and someone went there hoping to meet their long lost love with an emblem of their feelings. For me, this rose I found represents the love in this city and the romance that it holds that captures so many who go there.

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