FOREVER ONLINE: Fascinated by online presence, I’m noticing I’m slightly obsessed with the control I can have over my own image on social media platforms such as Instagram. I find it very satisfying. I presume that the desire to have that control comes from a sense of insecurity. An insecurity that only grows over time because you and the people around you romanticise their image online. You constantly compare yourself to this unrealistic ideal. A result of this, is a feeling of not being able to measure up to this ideal and the insecurity grows. It becomes a vicious circle. At the same time, it’s causing somewhat of a distorted reality because it separates actual reality from virtual reality. And once you prefer virtual reality, where does that leave the 'authentic' you? If there even is one. In this project I explored this concept by having physically, so to speak, stepped into virtual reality. By creating and animating a 3D model of myself and placing it in different scenes and situations. By doing this, I’m trying to give shape to, what a lot of people seem to call; a generation of shameless self-glorification and narcissism. But underneath that, is that extreme insecurity and dissatisfaction. You build your own utopian, virtual, idealistic version of yourself but virtual reality is empty, it’s nothingness. Or is it the ultimate form of narcissism and have you created a virtual self that will be forever online?
