Objects in Mirror
Mixed Media, September 2020
Original. 32 x 43″
Platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram leverage the very same neural circuitry used by slot machines and cocaine to keep us using their products as much as possible. These types of dopamine feedback loops can lead to the creation of a “gap” between our online image and our offline self. The wider the gap, the more prone a user is to having emotional distress, discord such as envy, and even psychological breakdowns. This is mostly because our idealized self-concept can grow increasingly distant from our own self-image. In response to this, I wanted to create a painting that showed how the withdrawal from our authentic self would facilitate its own creation of an idealized beauty that we could never achieve.
The woman in this painting takes off her online mask to drink tea. Her authentic face is hidden in darkness as she stands in her kitchen in quiet contemplation of her luxuriously curated surroundings. The shattered stained-glass like visuals blend what she wants people to see and what she keeps hidden. The darkness in this painting is meant to symbolize the increased isolation that is created from meticulously engineering her online image.
Heavy influences were from images of stained glass and social media icons like Essena O’ Neill who exposed the painstaking process behind the construction and maintenance of her social avatar and online façade.
References:
Social Avatar Theory: From In Vitro to In Vivo (Instagrammer Cognition – Mind the Gap): https://juniperpublishers.com/pbsij/pdf/PBSIJ.MS.ID.555812.pdf
Internet gaming disorder: Social phobia and identifying with your virtual self: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563217300560
Dopamine, Smartphones & You: A Battle For Your Time: http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/
- All artwork comes with its own unique authentication label hand signed by the artist.
- Free shipping. Please allow 6-10 days for test printing, processing, and delivery.
- Original artwork by the artist (all work is non-duplicate)
References:
Social Avatar Theory: From In Vitro to In Vivo (Instagrammer Cognition – Mind the Gap): https://juniperpublishers.com/pbsij/pdf/PBSIJ.MS.ID.555812.pdf
Internet gaming disorder: Social phobia and identifying with your virtual self: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563217300560
Dopamine, Smartphones & You: A Battle For Your Time: http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/
- All artwork comes with its own unique authentication label hand signed by the artist.
- Free shipping. Please allow 6-10 days for test printing, processing, and delivery.
- Original artwork by the artist (all work is non-duplicate)
Additional information
| Dimensions | 32 × 43 in |
|---|---|
| Size | |
| Canvas |
