Stripped Down series, 2021

by David Aquino

bachelor of fine arts, photography major

Third Year

I take off my mask, becoming vulnerable and comfortable within my own skin. The process of doing so allows me to forget about everything else and prioritize what’s most important: my own well-being.

David A
David Aquino

Reflection Within, from the Stripped Down series, 2021.

About the Artist

My practice explores the complex, constructed nature of identity and self-representation.

In Stripped Down, I turn the camera on myself to look inward through a series of self-portraits, presenting myself to the world in a variety of iterations. The pressures I face from society at large as well as my own intuition cause me to put on a mask, so this series attempts to capture a version of myself that exists behind closed doors, and within the comfort of my own home, that is authentic and true.

The bathroom is an incredibly personal space where one is typically alone. It is a site of transformation. The Stripped Down images capture the self-care practices, intimate acts, and rituals through which I strip down, revealing myself in the flesh. I take off my mask, becoming vulnerable and comfortable within my own skin. The process of doing so allows me to forget about everything else and prioritize what’s most important: my own well-being.

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