The Identity of a (Lone) Wolf

By Peju Adebanjo

March 22nd 2026

PA
Gurls Talk

I'm an artist and illustrator currently working on a self portrait series exploring my identity through visual symbols. I long awaited the day I would overcome my internal struggles with feeling stagnant, like I don't belong, like I don't have value. Yet those feelings seem to always linger. Rather than supressing them I use them for the one thing that gives me meaning- my art. I use the image of a wolf to represent my relationship with isolation, loneliness and undervaluation. The leaves, trees and flowers represent the growth I continuously experience, and potential I know I possess. I'm finding ways to enigmatically define my identity, and join all parts of it, bad and good.