ART
FACES
Through my years as a student, I've concluded that I'm not a very typical social person. I don't have any mental disabilities, but I have tendencies that make me feel apart from others at school.
The three faces I drew of myself represent the awkwardness I feel as a student and the silly, almost idiotic expressions I make. Overall, I feel it's an accurate representation of my everyday feelings.
SHURIKANE
Shurikane, one of Tsuyoku’s most strong and powerful shinobi (ninja), is able to convert his blood into solid metal and control radiation.
In the 284th year of the first emperor, Shinimaru Kanazawa was born to a nameless mother but to a corrupt Daimyo (government official). Born at exactly midnight, locals as well as his father believed him to be part of a legendary prophecy, a hero to their nation saving it from utter annihilation. Thus, at the exact time of birth, he was injected with artificial biometric genes to enhance his abilities for the future.
Growing up, little Kanazawa displayed athletic prowess, being able to defeat even high-ranking Samurai officials and seasoned military soldiers. Agile and powerful, it seemed like young Kanazawa was at his utmost peak performance. However, little did he know as a child, he would be used for his own father’s military victories.
At the time, his nation was at war with the West, which was almost centuries ahead in technological advancements. Because of this, Kanazawa, whose code name was たいふう (typhoon), was sent to the front lines as a guerrilla warrior. Due to his extreme stealth skills, despite the century gap in technology, our soldier Typhoon was able to get to the top of the hive, where the enemy leader was.
However, in a sudden spur of events, Kanazawa got word that his father was about to pass away, prompting him to return to his homeland immediately. After three hours of traveling, he finally got to his father’s soon-to-be deathbed. “Son, I need to tell you one thing,” his father groaned in pain. “You are not nor-” At that moment, the whole hospital exploded, as well as everything around it in a 50-mile radius.
At the time of his military enrollment, Kanazawa displayed heightened senses of skill but never enough to be considered functionally “different” from others. Memories of his military days flashed before his eyes in an instant, giving him the realization that he had been used for his abilities. Slowly, he would lose eyesight, the empty environment around him slowly beginning to lose its shape and lighting, eventually leading to complete darkness.
Awake. His father’s voice beamed loudly from out of nowhere. Our fallen soldier rose from the ashes and saw desolation, terror, and shadows representing incinerated individuals. It was ground zero, where he would awaken his abilities to their fullest. He would have his father’s voice in his head and not be able to get rid of it.
Now, as a soldier for good, however, the now Shurikane, uses his abilities for good, using traditional Tsuyoinese attire and weapons mixed with future atomic weapons and ninja stealth tactics. His father’s soul resides within his body, but Shurikane manages to cleanse the evil within.
HANDS
All of these pictures of my hands portray pain or anger. Since the end of my freshman year, I've developed a peculiar disease whose exact cause remains unknown. Due to its symptoms, many of my joints are inflamed, including my right middle finger. This physical limitation inspired me to draw a hand struggling to lift simple objects.
To express my ongoing frustration and resentment, I've also created a series of hands representing anger. These drawings resonate deeply with my experiences in high school over the past few years.
MINDLESSNESS
This piece of work portrays myself.
Yes, the proportion of the number of eyes to the other parts of the face is off, but it's meant to display how I feel like I act when I am, for lack of better words “out of it.”
I don’t believe that I myself am a very attentive person, which is why the word bank floating above the person’s head in the artwork contains all sorts of filler words such as “yeah” and “ok” and “mhm.” Originally, I was also going to add in an oscillator moving the main subject's head back and forth, replicating a nodding effect that displays a fake sense of attention.
ILLUSTRATION:
ESCAPE OR DEATH FROM REALITY?
In this piece is a boy behind a monitor, keyboard, and mouse with a pair of virtual reality goggles on.
I find this piece very symbolically meaningful to the vast population of gamers out there who try to escape from a reality that becomes increasingly worse.
Furthermore, to the right of the screen is a mirror reflecting what the main subject of the piece expects to see of himself, whereas in reality, the whole entire building behind him is collapsing on fire, his face half torn off, and body turned into mechanical computer parts.