"This self-portrait is a reflection on the evolution of identity, perception, and power. The letters ""RA"" carry layered meanings for me—historically associated with the Irish Republican Army, a symbol of conflict, rebellion, and resistance. Growing up, those letters spoke of division, political unrest, and a struggle for identity on a national scale. Something I didn’t fully understand at the time yet as a working class teenage Celtic fan, I wilfully sang songs in support of them. Today, it signifies the Royal Academy of Arts, which signifies something radically different: acceptance, prestige, and the power of cultural institutions.
This duality—RA as both defiance and recognition—informs the visual language of my portrait. It is both a reclamation and a reconciliation. The work confronts the tension between personal and institutional narratives, challenging the viewer to consider how symbols change meaning over time, and how our identities are shaped by the political and artistic legacies we inherit.
By inscribing myself into this shifting narrative, the self-portrait becomes not just a representation of my physical likeness, but a visual essay on transformation—of language, of history, and of self."