Reading Faces

'Reading Faces' explores the idea that human expression can be interpreted much like language. The portrait is constructed through layered colour, gestural mark-making and fragments of text collaged from book pages. These printed words are embedded within the face, suggesting that personal histories, memories and stories quietly shape the identities we present to the world.

The title refers both to the act of observing another person and to the literal presence of written language within the work. Just as readers search for meaning within a text, viewers are invited to “read” the subtle cues within the face, considering what may lie beneath the visible surface.

Working in acrylic and mixed media on canvas, the painting balances structured form with intuitive layering. The collage elements disrupt the painted surface, creating moments where narrative and abstraction intersect.

Through this interplay of text, colour and portraiture, Reading Faces reflects on the complexity of identity and the quiet stories that exist within every individual, often only partially revealed.