By Joelle de Poto 

I created a self-portrait of myself as a giant to demystify the fairytale concept of monsters and also to investigate why some creatures are portrayed as evil. While creating this painting, I progressively added menacing qualities of the giant to express her frustration with the house, in all of its simplicity and strength. Through research and reflection while working on The Giant, I learned that monsters exist in our reality, too. Monsters exist when we bring the world down because we are angry, when we cannot recognize our own suffering.

Joelle de Poto (she/her) ‘26 is a studio arts major. As a multimedia artist, she enjoys finding ways to integrate her studio practice with her creative writing practice. Her work is often driven by personal narratives surrounding themes of identity, mental health, and memory.