ABOUT
Dorothy Portin is an artist and educator originally from the PNW, currently based in Cedar City, Utah. She recieved her MFA in Painting in 2019 from Indiana University, and my BFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Washington in 2014.
My work explores the romanticisation of idyllic identity narratives through a reflective exploration of my own experience growing up in an evangelical community in the Pacific Northwest. Many of these narratives are passed down through collections of imagery depicted in 8mm film and photographs depicting growing families attending picnics, holidays, and birthday parties, and in otherwise mundane settings. Having grown up in a significantly conservative environment, I am particularly interested in the way concepts of innocence frame one's formative years.
Past works such as Be Kind to my Mistakes, Friends Forever, and Doll Drawings, explore these themes of nostalgia through object relations, popular culture, and religion.