Portfolio: Mixed media

Title: Experiment 1

Experiment 1, is a work in progress, related my research on “Social Media Faces, created during the World Of Co Bulgaria artist residency  in 2021.

Social media was embraced so fast by the majority of people as it satisfied our human need to belong to an ideal world; It is offering us the possibility to become a polished active character in an imaginary world. The unstoppable growing pressure of belonging to the social media community, is leading its users to look alike; Our organic faces, are being obsessively embellished in order to fit the social media standards.

Resin crushed glass on board panel. – 120/120cm

A Real size human face mask covered with crushed glass is pupping out from a background filled with big chunks of crushed glass. At first, we see a shiny look that turns into a disturbing feeling of insecurity and danger, the closer we get. the crushed glasses sharp edges popping up from the polished resin is leading us to realize the heavy illusion of well-being of the virtual world, we are stuck in.

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Medium: Expandable foam, Acrylic paint on canvas; Size: 130/130cm

Social media is the contemporary polished social problem. The unstoppable growing pressure of belonging to the social media community is leading its addicts to look and live alike. Excessive requirements are being imposed on them, from the ongoing picture-editing, to being active and reacting fast in posting, liking, sharing, commenting… that is leaving them with the sense of “No Control” over their time, emotions, privacy and individuality.

This is not a face is centralized around the idea of the Social Media Faces; how our organic face with its imperfections, is obsessively aspiring perfectness in constantly pleasing and belonging. Looking from far, the viewer starts by seeing its shininess perfection, then the closer they get, a disturbing feeling of loss of control, insecurity and glitches of this pretend perfect world are seen. The use of an expandable foam, a material known to be uncontrollable with an unpredictable result reflects the reality of the effect of this virtual realm on its addicts.

The viewer will experience an intriguing optical illusion when looking at the face, not fully getting if it is a 3D face or its negative one.

This is Not a Face was part of the Biennale of Contemporary Art 2019 – Universal Data; An exploration of our digital presence at MACAM the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum – Lebanon

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Acrylic /  Mixed Media on canvas 120/120cm

Immersed in a pretended perfect realm, the virtual world addicts are in fact living in a polished cracked reality; a decaying world.

Acrylic / Mixed Media on canvas  65/45cm

Humans throughout their existence, developed ways to cope with the real world atrocities. Today’s general tendency surprisingly quickly embraced social media because it offered a great alternative to a so called “perfect world”. The overwhelming setup of that proposed virtual world is gradually leading humans to a peak of a collective blindness.

The majority of Human Faces had been dragged to narrow down to crust on social media. Eyes expressions and Facial muscles are forced out to the benefits of photo retouches.

The human is helplessly fading away; the eyes are shutting down and the skin fighting back by shrinking.

Mixed Media on canvas 30/20cm

Our world today is offering us the possibility to become a polished active character in an imaginary world fulfilling our immersive needs, mostly troubling our emotional connection to our organic identity.