Jamie Rogers
The McDonald College
PIECES OF ME
Painting
Painted wood mosaic
My body of work consists of approximately 12,500 miniature squares. Together they form a self-portrait. Each ‘pixel’ conveys a tiny part of what makes a person whole: what has been, what will be and everything that could be. Each small piece represents a piece of me that isn’t always visible to an onlooker’s eye. So, to see the big picture, I invite the audience to take the binoculars and look through them backwards. You might need to squint to see it more clearly.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: Chuck Close, Vincent van Gogh, Guy Whitby
Marker's Commentary
This imposing painting explores photorealism and offers a contemporary take on self-portraiture through thousands of pixelated wooden tiles. The subject’s expression exudes calm intensity and confidence in his identity and place in the world. Adopting a classic portraiture form, the figure includes head, shoulders and a frontal view, set against a verdant green park, a dark tree-lined horizon, and an Australian summer sky. This park could be any park, reinforcing the idea that the painting, while a self-portrait, could also represent the ‘everyman.’
Inspired by Chuck Close’s portraits and his hallmark grid method, Pieces of Me acts as a commentary on photography. By placing a grid over a photographic image and painting it, the photograph is deconstructed. This technique, used since the Renaissance by artists like Dürer and Rembrandt, is meshed with digital age developments. From a distance, the portrait’s realism becomes apparent through optical blending of colours. The conceit is revealed when viewed through binoculars (backwards), where the diminutive image appears like a postcard-sized photograph, creating audience engagement and interactivity.
Close inspection reveals colour relationships and pattern shifts between tiles. Vibrant orange highlights the russet hair in small pops yet becomes shadow zones around facial features. Skin is composed of lolly pink, soft grey, yellow and apricot hues, with tonal values assigned to each square of the grid. Meticulous care has been taken with the technique, and the painting exists without idealisation or exaggeration. This objectivity removes associations, pathos, class and status. This compelling self-portrait documents the subject’s youthful freshness while continuing artistic traditions, bridging the gap between abstract art and realistic representation.