My concept for this project was to curate a space where physical media, digital media, and technological details existed in one space; these narratives are successful through the attention to detail, research, and choice of sizing. The mood of the collection is vibrant and satirical, reflecting the collaboration of these diverse spaces/perspectives.
Mural Print:
I wanted one of my images to have a déjà vu, almost surprise Easter egg quality, referencing another image from this collection. It would create a double self-insertion, forming an intriguing, time-loop-like concept. For my mural piece, I used one of my large prints, which I turned into a magazine, as a prop. The cover of the magazine features a statement about how, in the future, I hope I'm not just lying around doing nothing. Meanwhile, the back of the magazine says, “Oh, I’m doing nothing right now,” with an image of me messily lying on my bed, looking shocked while reading the magazine. I did not want to take myself too seriously in the participation in the images for this collection; so, for the mural print of myself, I chose to take an ironic approach. I chose this image for the mural because it felt more complex and connected, both narratively and thematically, helping to tie the entire concept together.
Large Prints:
​I chose my three large prints based on inspiration from both physical and digital media. For images that were inspired by larger, scaled media, I decided to make them large prints. To explain further, these three images were inspired by posters, laptops, and magazines, all of which are much larger, scaled media types compared to the three smaller images in the collection.
This laptop screen-saver inspired image is another time-loop curation. Displaying a girl on a rug in the middle of an empty patch of grass with her laptop, but with file icons scattered across the image, as if she herself is the laptop screensaver. The files across the image are titled after the images in this entire collection, along with a file titled "Artist Statement" for the series.
This image is inspired by posters, but with a more tangible or interactive approach. I decided to create an image inspired by the “take-away ticket” posters. When I thought about interesting physical media, the idea of combining tattoos and photography came to mind. This image shows a tattoo artist tattooing themselves, with prints of tattoo flash designs serving as tickets for someone to "take a tattoo." Some tickets are missing, showing that people have interacted with the poster, reinforcing the main idea of the image.
The last large-scale print is inspired by a magazine cover, which I reference in the mural print. I researched many popular magazine covers, such as Vogue, and noticed that many of them feature one subject with the magazine’s brand in large text above, with a few text grabs around the subject. I followed this approach, using myself as the subject and my artist brand as the magazine's title. To add an ironic tone, included are interview questions asking about my future, with my response being, "Hopefully not laying around doing nothing." The back magazine cover shows an image of empty glasses scattered on a countertop, hinting at the messiness that will unfold after reading the magazine. I wrapped the magazine to depict an "unopened first edition magazine", in the bottom right white box states first edition, which is false since we see myself reading the magazine in the mural print.
Small Prints:
Similar to the inspiration behind my large prints, I drew from both physical and technological media for my small prints. From cell phones, small scaled physical artistic media, and social media spaces.
This image was inspired by photos taken on iPhones, specifically the yellow face detection box and the white center button that appears on the screen when capturing an image. For the subject matter, I considered what someone might photograph with their iPhone instead of a professional camera, and I decided that a spontaneous moment would be most fitting. As a result, I staged a fall, where the model dropped her art supplies in a perfect, chaotic arrangement - while still looking fabulous. This piece offers a satirical take within the collection and is printed in accurate sizing to an iPhone.
This print is cut into the shape of a CD and placed inside an empty CD case. My inspiration for this piece came from album covers and physical media related to music. I researched various album covers, many of which featured grunge and punk-inspired imagery that caught my interest - so my subject is a graffiti artist hiding their face .
My final image is a staged scene depicting two people interacting at what appears to be a party. Both subjects are wearing crop tops with their stomachs exposed, each with three-digit numbers painted onto their stomachs, accompanied by the word "followers." This image comments on the public display of follower counts on social media. I wanted to explore how this concept could be presented in an objective, physical setting.