SELF PORTRAIT
Heather Kemp, 2026
Mixed-media sound installation featuring the original song Coming Out

Artist Statement

I came out later in life.

As I was beginning to recognize my own orientation—to find language for something that had always been a part of me—I was also beginning the deeply personal process of deciding what I wanted to share, how I wanted to share it, and what coming out meant to me.

Before I had the chance to fully do that on my own terms, I was outed by someone I believed was my closest ally.

And in telling other people who I was, they distorted who I was.

Suddenly, I was confronted not only with being exposed without my consent, but with seeing myself reflected through someone else's perception of me.

I understood, even then, that the ways we perceive one another are shaped by our own wounds, our own unanswered questions about identity, and our own internal dissonance.

Understanding that did not make it hurt less.

It was one of the loneliest and most isolating moments of my life.

I got in my car and drove.

I was crying, talking out loud to myself and to the universe, when words began coming out of my mouth:

inside of me
i am more than enough

And then more came.

inside of me
is an infinite well of love

By the time I reached my studio, I knew I was writing a song.

What emerged was not a confession.

It was not an explanation of my sexuality.

It was not an argument for my acceptability.

It was my coming out.

Because when I thought about what I actually wanted people to know about me, these were the parts of my identity that felt most meaningful.

That I am more than enough.
That I contain an infinite well of love.
That I have endless worth.
That there is not a missing piece of me.
That I am complete.
That I am free.

I am no longer interested in being loved despite who I am. I want to be loved because of who I am—not in spite of my complexity, but inclusive of it.

Self Portrait grew from that song.

I built my interior world around a mirror: my words, my voice, color, texture, movement, contradiction, excess, play.

But when you look inside, my face is not the one at its center.

Yours is.

We see ourselves through other people.
We see other people through ourselves.

This piece began with the pain of seeing myself reflected through someone else's perception of me.

I offer it now as something else:

I tell you what is inside of me.
You look inside.
And you find yourself.

Listen to "coming out" on Spotify

Listen to "coming out" on Youtube

LYRICS

i hope by the time my children have grown

coming out isn't a thing anymore

you just are who you are

you love who you love

define your own terms

speak your truth

use your words

and we, we'll all see

we are more than the sum of our parts

we are more like the sun in our hearts

filled with beauty and wonder

waiting there to discover

inside of me

i am more than enough

inside of me

is an infinite well of love

inside of me 

i have endless worth

inside of me 

the whole universe

inside of me

not a missing piece

inside of me

is everything i need

inside of me

i am complete

inside of me

i am free

i am free

i am free