Mixed media paintings
Alter Ego runs deep in each person. We are rarely unidirectional. Rather a multitude.
Whereas our previous Alter Ego session explored masks as (artistic) tool to assume different personalities, a desire to conceal or transform our identity, the true ‘alter ego’ resides within us on its own – no need for masks. Whether we are aware of our own ‘multitudes’ or not, each person is uniquely multidimensional.
The extremes are known as multiple personality disorder, a fascinating phenomenon where an individual, without conscious recognition, experiences two or more distinct identities or personality states (each with its own enduring pattern of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and self). A case of Sybil (Shirley Ardell Mason) is a historic example that sparked much professional and public attention to this dissociative identity ‘condition’ (or ability?)
Well, even those of us who are firmly ‘One’ often exhibit traits, sides, behaviors that encroach into atypical – how often do we discover aspects of ourselves that were not out in the open? I would think that searching for them and recognizing them as our own curious multitude is enormously enriching.
I have recently participated in a management training course that relied on a personality analysis based on Enneagram. The coach, Peter, in our ‘spill the guts’ one-on-one session said ‘I have never seen results like yours‘ – gratifying and empowering to face our uniqueness – the test differentiates millions of personality shades or energies as he calls them. So, I am The Reformer, The Achiever and then a mix of The Peacemaker, The Investigator and The Challenger. Who would have thought? I am all of them!
On a much less analytical level, here are my alter egos, out in the open – a trio borne out of introspection and acceptance of my own multitudes.
Left Brain Artists 