Within my senior thesis, I have decided to investigate the balance of beauty and ugliness through a series of self portraiture, exhibiting strong contrast of color, chiaroscuro of the form, and dual imagery in order to create a sense of conflict and vulnerability that typically accompanies exposing oneself. I will do this in the format of three large scale oil paintings. The poses will be arranged in juxtaposition with a mirror, confronting my own view of ugly in order to find the beauty within, both physically and metaphysically. I will be taking the relationship between the artist and the mirror and spinning it on its head. Rather than be gazing at myself in a mirror and then drawing what I see in the reflection, as is typical with traditional self-portraiture, I will portray these images through the lens of a third party observer through primary photographic reference photos. By doing this, the viewer will be able to witness my personal struggle between myself and the reflection first hand, thus creating a more intimate moment between the image and viewer.