perfect
adjective /ˈpəːfɪkt/ having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.
Amalia Ulman, Excellences & Perfections , online instagram persona project (2014) [various instagram posts & videos] (Credit: Amalia Ulman/Arcadia Missa)
analysis:
the young Artist Amalia Ulman created and performed an online persona. through means of photography and performance, Excellences & perfections was recorded on Instagram in order to inflict a reaction; asking questions about gender and identity online. her artistic project informs us about our own social media identities. Over the course of six months, she provides her instagram followers with an heavily engineered insight into her 'proposed' life.
The photographs within this collection depict cliches of aspiration living, such as yoga, nice foods, shopping sprees and an avid almost perfect lifestyle. Using props, filters and hashtags to mask her life in order to create the ultimate social media account, someone striving to live the desired life.
After months, Amalia Ulman's instagram post's transformed, photographs of her holding harmful weapons and wearing provocative lingerie inflicted shock and horror from her instagram followers. This would lead to the revelation of her performance art piece, leading audience members to feel tricked or cheated.
Excellences & Perfections challenges the belief that people using social media do it purely to represent their lives, when actually they use it to portray a masked identity and lifestyle in order to make themselves the perfect person. In reflection to Amalia's performance, I have decided to create a piece of work which is a reaction towards humanity use material objects such as fashion in order to veil their identity. The way that Amalia uses a platform such as instagram is a platform to present this is something I will experiment with, maybe using a brand selling 'products' in an ironic manor to present my views.
reflection:
- whilst exploring areas of humanity, her views on identity & gender and how they are perceived through social media is influential.
- accurately presents how to present identity ( a part of humanity) online.
- an interesting read: realisation how fragile identity is online - issues relating to cat fishing etc.
"Right now I do have a troll, or something, that's spamming me with fake followers."
Who?
"I have no idea!"
Why?
"To be annoying?!" - Amalia Ulman
in response to instagram followers not being real.
Influence on future making:
how will I explore identity through my designs?
Using a mask, similarly to how Amalia Ulaman uses Instagram as a platform to mask herself, I will literally using images of masks to portray identity masking in a more literal sense.
Comments