Artists playing with identity

Abstract

The concept of identity has been ever-present since humans have been living in societies. People have identified themselves with their work, their families, their church, or religion as well as with their Nation or state. All of these identities that people have adopted throughout time have had various impacts on how those people have seen and understood themselves as well as how they have orga nized themselves and acted.

As such an influential concept it has been of particular interest to many artists, which have explored it in their own artworks and have also analyzed and re searched it as well. This research relies on the findings and works that have come before, such as Bachelor’s and Master’s Theses, research papers, lectures, ex pert interviews, articles, books as well as on artworks that are informative and relevant to the topic of Identity.

The aim of the thesis is to contribute to the awareness of the impact of Identity, show its importance in the field of arts and explain how the author is playing with identity as an artist and a storyteller and to open a semiotic and symbolic discus sion of the author’s artistic work.

The findings show the complexities of human identities and how particular indi viduals have creatively formed and shaped their identities in order to serve them. As our identities are constantly in the process of change, and while we continue to ask who we are, we should not forget who is it that we want to become.