Curatorial Rationale

This body of work aims to show how the effects of social media portray themselves in different ways, and in different contexts. The desired impact that the body of work will have on the audience is to make them think about the ways that social media affects us in our daily lives and how it becomes an addiction for most people. It is also to make them see how cyberbullying can affect children that use social media, and how it can have an effect on the way they view themselves. The concepts included in the body of work are Social media, how humans can get addictions to it, as well as how it affects the way we see ourselves, how social media can be overwhelming as well as be very present in our lives, and finally, cyberbullying on social media. My work has been influenced by artists such as Sharmelan Murugiah, Paolo Beghini and Mathilde Crétier

These concepts have been portrayed through physical metaphors, such as the syringe containing “like” icons, as well as the recreational social media pills. The theme of cyberbullying and its effects on one’s body image is shown through seeing an altered version of one’s self through a mirror, because of how the people on social media use filters and editing apps to make themselves look like what society considers “beautiful”, as well as how cyberbullying has an effect on body image. What influenced the work is a series of experiences that I’ve had with social media and cyberbullying. As social media has become more present in my life, my sense of self and body image was deeply affected and I wanted to express the unfairness that are the effects of social media through art. Additionally, I wanted to touch on my experiences with cyberbullying.

The arrangement of my artwork is supposed to resemble a living room with a sofa with pillows, posters on the wall, a mirror, a side table, etc… This is to create a sense of omnipresence of social media in our day to day lives. It’s to create the feeling that social media is everywhere. The arrangement also contributes to the relationship between the artworks presented as they all resemble a part of a living room. Placing them in a living space setting allows the audience to picture themselves living in an area being surrounded by social media, and the pieces in themselves help convince the audience that they are in fact in some strange living room. To develop a relationship between the artwork and the audience, I used familiar objects that were stereotypical of some concepts.

For example, when one thinks about addiction, they think about drugs, such as pills and syringes. Therefore, I amplified the idea of addiction to social media by comparing it to a real-life serious addiction. This helps the audience understand the severity of addiction the social media, by being able to relate something they already know about addiction, to social media.

I intend for my audience to feel overwhelmed by the intense presence of social media, as well as the different ways in which social media can have an effect on us. I’d like them to reflect on the number of times in a day that they check their social media and how present it is in their lives. Furthermore, I’d like them to consider the impact that THEY might have on others through their own use of social media.