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During her BA Fine Art degree, Vervina explored her cultural identity and heritage and discovered new passions in contemporary fine art media.

Discovering her potential

Picture of Vervina Henry
Vervina credits her time at Reading School of Art for giving her the confidence to experiment with contemporary art forms such as installation, performance and film.

 

It was a bold step away from the favoured painting style she began her degree with.

"My time at Reading has helped to develop me into an artist that is confident to explore other media: film, photography, performance and to combine them all, layer them together and see what the results are."

Embracing her cultural background

Through modes of contemporary art, Vervina was able to fully embrace her cultural background. She developed the theme of "identity", which greatly influences her work.

 

"Identity is now the focus of my practice. I enjoy looking at all the layers hidden inside a person - it is sometimes quite challenging to see a person without misjudging that person appearance-wise."

 

Vervina is Japanese on her father's side and refers to this aspect of her background as her "hidden identity". Using herself as the subject of her enquiry, Vervina explored what her identity represents; its history and cultural heritage.

 

"I am gaining a better understanding about my cultural background through Nági, an alter ego I have constructed that plays a prominent role in my work. She represents my feelings, emotions, and thoughts on my culture."

Colourful Layers

Vervina's most recent work is an interactive-video performance and installation piece titled Colourful Layers.

 

It builds on the relationship of an individuals' awareness of their own identity and makes them think how other people may judge them, and how they may judge others.

 

Her work displays the different layers of that individual's identity and how it unravels through different circumstances, such as hobbies or social events.
The support I have received from staff has helped me a lot. It boosted my confidence and encouraged me to do more research into how artists represent themselves. I want to represent myself in my own way, in my own style and just be me.
Vervina Henry, BA Fine Art

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Marylyn Molisso, Backbreaker 2019
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Image: Marylyn Molisso's 'Backbreaker', 2019, Peer Gallery (photo credit: Stephen White).