Taylor Bernstein’s self portraits are inspired by selfies taken during a state of disassociation.  Her disconnect with reality and inability to trust her surroundings left her submerged in an existence she could not recognize as being warped.  In these paintings she distorts the selfie using unrealistic colors and exaggerated gestural brushstrokes.  She depicts a larger than life visage that consumes the canvas evoking the overwhelming experience of someone in mental crisis.  Bernstein is fascinated by medical imaging and the ability to literally see inside oneself.  In her abstract work she uses India ink and duralar because of the unpredictability of their interaction.  Though she has some authority over the contours created and the colors chosen, they shift in appearance after the ink is applied to the surface.  She accepts this lack of control and welcomes mistakes in all of her work as they mimic the mutations of her own biology.