Tiako ianao Painting

When we were very young the woman portrayed in this painting and I were very much alike, which led us a lot of people to think we were sisters, this still continues today. At the moment I painted her, I was in my research looking at the place of the resemblance (or difference) to the other in the construction of identity and it became obvious to paint her. The term identity seems to take on its full meaning when one is able to compare oneself to others, understanding similarities as well as differences. Comaroff's perspective integrates into this explanation that comparison does not imply the need for classification by unifying "social reality" or by simplifying the "social grid". This opens up the possibility of comparing ourselves to others without putting each of us into specific categories. Others discuss classification in opposition and challenge the idea that this process has always contributed positively to the creation of distinct groups or individuals (Walasch, Lambek, 1997). Why then do people continue to place their perception of identity in a distinction with others when we now know that, firstly, it reduces each individual to something that does not encompass all of his or her complexity, secondly, it does not seem obligatory to categorise people when comparing them, and thirdly, it does not always generate relevant support for identity constructions?