Send ME Your Selfie

In #SendMeYourSelfie I am still considering the conversation about perception and representation of self, but shifting the focus from the candid image to the “Selfie.” I have asked my social media friends to contribute selfies for me to paint as a way to document and examine the culture of social media communities.

I would like to draw on the history of anthropological painting and photography by documenting the cultural aesthetics of the people that contribute to social media sites. However, anthropological studies have often said more about the culture of the documentor rather than the documented. By asking social media users to send me their selfies I am playing with the autonomy of the subject. They have control over their initial photograph, however, I have control over the painting process and the final image presented. It is a collaboration between the contemporary society I wish to depict and myself as the artist. Furthermore, as a member of these social media communities my perspective is influenced by my participation.