Abstract
In this essay, I propose Snapchat portraits express not the face as image but image as perplexing, disappearing, mutating phenomena. Through its vague relationship to the genre of photographic portraiture, Snapchat is not so much concerned with identity, likeness or reproducibility. Instead, it stresses duplication, disguise and disappearance as the dominant features of the self in contemporary culture. Furthermore, with their use of lenses, filters and distortions Snapchat messages unsettle our notions of the index ? wherein what is shown in a photograph was also once in front of a camera ? and with their built in disappearance they challenge any sense of image as a memory prosthetic. In a culture of obsessive and compulsive picture making, Snapchat as a way of making portraits, is not overly concerned with creating image likenesses nor is it aligned to any recognisable notions of identity. Instead, it contributes to the mass production and proliferation of images that we are engrossed with and experience today. I argue it is this activity of making images that defines who we are, more than any visual representation of our faces. Taking photographs, especially of ourselves, is what we now do.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 90-93 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Fotografija 80/81 |
Volume | 71 |
Issue number | 72 |
Publication status | Published (VoR) - 1 Jun 2016 |