Rebirth of a Human Epoch, Silver Key Portfolio, Lily Ebrahimi, Community High School of Arts and Academics

Artist Statement

Rebirth of a Human Epoch is about the process of sacrificing the old and comfortable, to be rebirthed. This portfolio is largely based on Victorian traditions, specifically St. Stephen's Day or Wren Day, which historically occurred on December 26th of each year. In this tradition birds are hung or depicted to be dead on cards to symbolize the sacrifice of the old to welcome the new. In this case, the tradition is taken further, towards the aspect of self-discovery. A push towards self-reflection, discomfort, reality, simplicity of the body, and escape is explored; and in one's own time, the cycle begins again. One of the themes explored is polycephaly, the condition of an organism that has two heads. This condition is used to force a feeling of discomfort and abnormality however through the art that abnormal quality is admired and is used to connect to the feeling of isolation from others. "Speculum" explores how leaving space to not observe oneself leads to a more authentic self-discovery. It challenges the habit of being overly critical and conforming one's image to reflect the popular opinion. “Interception” takes the idea of unobserved self discovery to a level of simplicity. Who are you in the simplest form? How does your physicality represent you? Or, does it represent you at all? Lastly, visiting the end of the first cycle, “Fellow Fledgling”. The birds above are fledglings falling at their first attempt at flight and beneath, a friend that has gone through the cycle as well and has learned to fly. Change is the focal point. No one is the same from one second to the next in fact, the second someone exists as something they have already changed again. Of course, some things, like polycephaly, can't change; however, one’s intentions can.

Personal Statement

My interest in birds stems from my mom; however, at the start of 2025 I became distinctly obsessed but not in just your usual bird but, dead birds. At the start, I didn't understand what had drawn me into the concept however, after research I found it. I had been longing for a change in my life personally and in my artwork. One week later, after finishing the first bird, I found a dead robin at the front door, right on my porch. I decided at that moment that I had to continue exploring this idea. Throughout my art journey I have disliked most or almost all of my pieces and I had found comfort in that, but this project started to change my view of my art. I continued to explore these themes of rebirth, sacrifice, and luck for the whole of 2025 and now as 2025 comes to an end I feel it is time for me to sacrifice my comfort and rebirth my outlook on life and art again because as an artist your art is everchanging and as a young student my interests are as well.

Funtime, Silver Key Portfolio, Sky Standley, Blacksburg High School

Artist Statement

I love being around people, and I am outgoing and friendly to everyone. The only time that I can stand to be alone is when I am working in the studio, making artworks, birthday cards, and creating secret installations for the outdoors. I’m often sitting on the floor in my studio space, surrounded by all sorts of ongoing projects and miscellaneous materials. I'm a big collector of random, various things that make me smile. My friends, family and even teachers are always donating materials to me. Some of my favorite things have been old crayons, junk jewelry, bamboo skewers, Easter grass, and broken toys. I love using materials that are unexpected, playful, or insignificant. My artwork starts when I see or hear something that triggers a memory from my childhood. This turns into an idea or an image which gets stuck in my head. The only way I can get it out is to create it in reality. It’s like working out an issue or an argument. The artworks that I have included in my portfolio are moments from my past. When I am finished there is closure and I send them out into the world.

Personal Statement

When I was little, I was always making books. Books were my obsession. I loved drawing and writing stories and I would run around sharing my creations with anyone who would pay attention. Unfortunately, I did not always get the reactions I expected, because as I got older people started trying to correct my stories, and they couldn't move past all of my spelling mistakes. When I was in first grade a psychologist diagnosed me with dyslexia. I started to lose some of my self-confidence, and I decided that I didn't want to make stories anymore. When I started kindergarten even drawing lost its magic because others told me that my pictures didn’t look like real things. Then I found robot stuff. Robot stuff is what my brother and I would call a basket of old toys and broken things that my mom used to pull out for us as an activity. This was my favorite thing ever and I think it is the reason I want to make three-dimensional art! Using the hot glue gun all by myself to connect miscellaneous old toys together to create something new was some of the most fun I’ve ever had.