In this series, I want to portray the differences between real life and Social Media, especially Instagram. The grid in the upper part of the photo with the 9 images represent what's shown on Instagram, while everything out of that grid represents real life. The name of it comes from "Love in Times of Cholera" written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, even if both themes are not related.
"Sex sells" it's a commonly used statement connected to the idea that sex itself is one of the oldest "services" that has been "sold" through time. Sexual, erotic, and sensual things are a huge part of what we see daily in entertainment and media. Many famous icons, such as Marilyn Monroe, were a perfect example of that sensuality/sexuality "sold" by showbusiness.
For this image I wanted to show a dressed lower body, with a winter jacket barely hanging from the model's arms, while he is posing topless for the photo, showing as much skin as possible in winter because "sex sells".
Ironically, in another series ("Caution With...") I talked about Instagram's censorship policy when it comes to photos of female nipples in opposition to photos with a high level of sexuality portraying naked bodies. There were many reports about people with non "hegemonic" bodies having their photos censored by the social network just because they were showing too much skin while a lot of photos of "hegemonic" naked bodies get thousands and thousands of likes. And even in profiles from bodies that could fit the socially accepted beauty standards, photos of them more naked or more sexual tend to have a bigger impact (in terms of likes) than any other style of photos.
Picasso was known for his unique portrait paintings, in which different elements from the subject's face were scattered in an unreal way. He is also considered one of the most renowned painters from Cubism.
For this image, I wanted to showcase the use of the grid of Instagram enlarging a photo and using someone's feed to show the whole picture. The problem with that idea is that a new picture alone would move the different parts of the image, creating a distorted figure, with eyes and nose being placed in an unreal way. In there, we can find a new way of cubism through Instagram.
On Instagram, it's not allowed to move photos to rearrange the feed, so you have to be very careful before uploading something if you want to have it organized without having to erase (or archive) a photo. And if someone decided to go with the enlarged image, they were forced to upload three images in a row for the bigger picture to be displayed in a realistic way.
In this image, I want to portray the excess of filters or digital retouch in portraits as you can see inside the grid a woman with almost no wrinkles on her face. There's not a defined concept of Beauty, but there is a "socially preferred beauty or aesthetic". Therein lies the idea of "hegemonic beauty", which entertainment and Social Media, especially Instagram, show us every time they can.
We are all affected by that standard, and even though it's okay to try to look good for ourselves, it's not necessary to fit in one of those pre-established beauty models.
As a photographer, I know the amount of digital retouch someone can work with Photoshop. It's every day easier to modify body shapes or skin texture. And with the introduction of filters in every app that we have access to (as Snapchat or Instagram itself) creates a distorted image in which people prefer selfie cam rather than look at themselves in the mirror, where there is no filter to activate.
I personally dislike digital retouch in excess in my photos. I think beauty is individual, and it can be or not in the "socially determined" concepts. I don't think it's necessary a filter to reduce wrinkles (that dreadful idea of "old age" in social media) or to modify body shapes.
Photographers face a lot of dilemmas in Social Media. Especially when it comes to self-portraits (as in this photo).
Should we use a watermark in every photo we upload so people won't steal them? Do we need to upload a self-portrait holding the camera to show that we are photographers and not models? Do we need to work on film instead of digital, to create a vintage esthetic that seems to work a lot on social media?
In this picture, I wanted to put everything on the grid, except the photo editing represented by my laptop. Inside the grid, you will see a self-portrait with a film camera and a watermark of my Instagram written on my forehead.
I personally don't like watermarks, because I want to think of the pictures that I take as an artistic expression with its own life, and because I dislike watermarks. I don't do film anymore, did it only once or twice while studying filmmaking. And I am not a big fan of taking self-portraits holding the camera because I don't want the camera I use to determine who or what I am. I want to define the photos I take by my own point of view.
