Amy Zhu
Mission San Jose High School｜Freedmont, Ca
TEACHER: Edie Christensen
Drawing
Untitled | 18 x 12 in.
Idea(s): In my recovery, the hardest thing for me to learn was self-acceptance. My faceted self becoming one.
Materials(s): Digital in Clip Studio Paint.
Process(es): Shows my disordered self and my wrestling self merging into me. Water signifies peace and rebirth.
Student statement
Student
statement
In popular media, eating disorders are often simplified to their symptoms. However, such behaviors are symptomatic of a legitimate and debilitating mental illness.
As much as we like to look back on our younger selves as different versions of us, we are a constant in our own lives. My investigation focused on my experience with an eating disorder and recovery. Learning complete self-acceptance was a pivotal moment in my recovery, and at age 17, I had to completely redefine my relationship with myself.
The water in this drawing symbolizes purity and a sense of rebirth as fractured, self-antagonizing parts of me morph into a complete figure. From this, there is the beginning of a new, whole being that we can see in the water’s true and reflective surface. It is easy to become encumbered by self-judgment, and I wanted this piece to depict that critical moment of realizing self-acceptance as a way to heal.
Amy Zhu
Amy Zhu
