Through the Instagram Lens

The title of my piece is Through the Instagram Lens. The subject of my piece is validation. I portray this subject through about 25 screenshotted images from my Instagram account, a manipulated photo of my vanity, and an image of me sitting on my chair. I decided to make a piece that shows how encapsulating Instagram has been in my life. The piece I made is of a wall in my room. The screenshotted images are scattered all over the background of my canvas, which is taking up the wall of my room. The background is set up like a collage. I chose my personal Instagram photos because these are the images I look at all the time. I go on my phone every morning and it’s basically as if I would be looking around my room. I manipulated a picture of my vanity and photoshopped a screenshot of the screen that comes up when navigating to take a picture of yourself on Instagram into the mirror. I also pasted in a photo of myself sitting on my chair looking at the manipulated vanity mirror. The vanity idea means that I do not see my actual reflection when I’m looking in my mirror. I only see or want to see the type of reflection that I would deem “Instagram” worthy. The composition of Hannah Höch’s Für ein Fest gemacht (Made for a Party) 1936 influenced my piece. The large cutout of the woman’s head made me think to make the vanity a bigger size than myself. The difference in size emphasizes that the reflection takes up the perception I have of myself. The book we are reading entitled The Art of Self Invention by Joanne Finkelstein has also influenced the subject of my piece. The book talks about image and identity in popular visual culture and it led me to think about my identity and the influence culture has on it. This project greatly represents me because I have become dependent on the image I want to show to the world and the feedback I get from my Instagram followers. This can be because many people try to look like an enhanced version of themselves on Instagram and then it begins to become their actual life. You cannot let the identity you have on social media become your real identity (reflection) because it will take up your world.