i d e a d - c o n c e p t s t a t e m e n t
The contemporary self could be said to be quantitative. We produce a constant stream of data that is collected, projected, and stored which determines our daily existence. To what extent has this ‘quantitative turn’ changed our understanding of self?
My original interest and summation of the question I had chosen for this task was that we lead splintered lives, one in the physical or ‘real’ world and one online where we update, upload, post and share consistently about what is happening in our ‘real’ lives. These lives overlap, but what I was really fascinated with was the ‘gap’, the small distance or perhaps huge disparity between these lives.
I had no idea how much my research for this task would snowball, splintering itself into multiple avenues which were each incredibly thought-provoking, as well as again offering the potential to further engage with another endless ‘stream’ of potential research topics.
The notion itself of our contemporary self being quantitative, and my inherent response to it was incredibly engaging for me as it questions the digital age we are all an active part of and which we are all contributing to, particularly for younger generations. It is a question I was motivated to explore due to its relevance to most people I know as well as myself. What is our current state and what will become of us?
My thought process began with the idea of a digital identity and how it affects our ‘real’ selves, investigating the importance of a ‘like’, whether or not we are defined by these ‘likes’ along with other social media indicators, and how would our ‘digital selves’ be represented? This mode of thinking then led into questions about the ‘realness’ of an identity when it is a false projection in the terms of ‘catfishing’ and misrepresented identity. Why was the misrepresentation of a ‘digital self’ viewed as stealth if nothing tangible about one’s self was stolen or compromised? All of the questions I had about what it is that makes our digital selves really a part of who we are were never really answered, but they did lead me on to bigger queries. As much as I was interested in a digital life, the concept of a ‘digital afterlife’ was much more captivating.
‘We produce a constant stream of data that is collected, projected and stored which determines our daily existence…’ What if we were to produce a stream of data that is collected and projected as a means to determine what was our existence? This is the vision behind my proposal for an artwork.
After researching at great lengths the necessary methods social media sites have in place to manage the accounts of deceased people, new projects designed to protect ones digital identity and websites offering people eternal digital ‘life’, I knew I was interested in the future of remembering the dead.
I was really inspired by totem poles, both for the meaning they can communicate and for the aesthetic impression they deliver. Totem poles, and indigenous peoples views of photography and cameras influenced the development of my process about the future of mourning.
The final work produced for this assessment task is composed of three sections. The first being the research process, which, I found to be the most thrilling, engaging and extensive aspect of the project. The second is the collection of portraits that were products of several experiments I designed to engage with and respond to notions I was developing about the contemporary self. These experiments dealt with the notion that ‘we are what we like’, ‘you’re only as good as your last like’, and the value we each attribute to our social media profiles. The third is the idea for, or perhaps prediction of, a potential future of commemorating the dead.
The proposal for a work, the ‘idead’ is a reimagining of how we should remember the dead. The ‘i’ of the title is one last nod to Apple Mac as an allusion to the hardware we use to update our digital lives, and in this case our digital ghosts. (Apple might even be the force behind this project one day). Saying the title ‘idead’ sounds as though one is proclaiming ‘I am dead’, which suggests a really daring ownership of the event of dying, surpassing the fear that so many have of the inevitable. The ‘id’ part of the title would be underlined or highlighted as both a reference to ‘i.d.’ as in identification as well as ‘id’ as in referencing Freud’s three-part model of the human psyche.
