Millennial Portraits
Exploring themes of belonging, the Millennial Portrait series depicts a range of millennials born in, or currently residing in, Canada. The millennial generation (as of Jan 2021) is between the ages of 24-39 and make up 27% of the Canadian population - the largest generational group in Canada (as per Statistics Canada).
* Are you a millennial that was born in, or currently lives in Canada? Chelsea is currently looking for models to grow this series. Visit the Contact page for more information on how to get involved.
** Not a millennial, but love the idea of getting a custom portrait? Check out the Custom Portrait Pack.
The Millennial Portrait series was originally created in PhotoShop. Using a camera phone image as the base, Chelsea hand drew over a photograph using an old laptop and a cordless mouse (this has since upgraded to an iPad and pencil). This series is reminiscent of 90's pixel art and invites the viewer to see millennials through the simplicity of line and color.
Each portrait is titled “Portrait of (first initial) / b. (birth city, province/country); (birthyear)/ r. (city of current residence).” For example: “Portrait of S / b. Halifax, NS; 1982/ r. Edmonton.” This naming convention attempts to explore the intersection of place and belonging for each individual. The viewer may wonder what cities, provinces, countries, and experiences span the time and space between birth location and current residence for these subjects.
Artist Acknowledgement: The naming convention uses the colonial names of locations in Canada. I humbly recognize that these lands have traditional Indigenous names and existed long before settlers arrived.