A Silent Exchange

About the Work

There is a quiet openness in a moment of a gaze, a lingering sense of being seen and seeing in return. A Silent Exchange captures that pause, that internal recognition, where presence is enough. This one-layer screen print, a self-portrait in its most distilled form, was previously rejected from my university’s student juried exhibition perhaps for its simplicity, its quietness, or its refusal to declare itself too loudly. In the context of On Display, this work speaks to the value of what is often overlooked: the unspoken, the understated, the sincere. It rejects the need for spectacle and embraces intimacy instead. What happens in this gaze is not a performance, but a moment of real encounter with the self, with the viewer, with the quiet insistence that even soft things deserve to be seen.

About the Artist

Ashton Howard is a multidisciplinary artist from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts at Southeastern Louisiana University, where she focuses on painting and printmaking. Her work centers on self-portraiture as a way to navigate identity, vulnerability, and self-perception. Drawing from personal experiences of rejection and self-doubt, Howard’s practice explores what it means to be seen and to see oneself with honesty. Each piece becomes part of a larger journey toward self-acceptance, reflecting both the pain of self-denial and the quiet resilience of becoming. Each piece reflects her ongoing journey of self-discovery and artistic growth. Through her art, Ashton aims to examine, explore, and ultimately define who she is, while seeking a deeper understanding of how she perceives herself and the world around her.