This piece was made for a sculpture class in the fall of 2023, the assignment was to make something (almost) entirely out of paper, and photograph it. At the time, I was spending a lot of time on depicting my own form through mixed media self-portraiture, and decided to continue that theme with this piece. I wanted to cut a cavity in the center of the chest to call back to Take Care Of Your Self, but instead of red fabric the cavity would contain a miniature bedroom diorama. It was my way of depicting an internal feeling of safety and secuirty. The head of the figure consists of a chaotic explosion of colorful paper scraps, a contrast to the comfort represented in the chest cavity. I have a deep fondness for this piece. Carrying it into the woods for the photoshoot felt strangely intimate, as I was holding a cardboard version of myself in my arms while I walked. During critique, a classmate pointed out that it was fitting to bring it into the forest, since paper and cardboard come from trees, it was sort of like a homecoming for the material. Don’t worry, I didn’t leave it there. It lived in my dorm until move-out that spring, when I threw it out. It was composed almost entirely of material I found in dumpsters, so I didn’t feel too bad about it, especially because I will always have the photos I took of it.