Glitch Me

 

As my work evolved it started to lean more towards identity and the private persona, particularly that online. The series consists of images taken from my Instagram, a few of which have gained unsolicited and unnecessary attention, while comments, likes and shares are part of the course for online activity, there is no excise for harassment and vile comments. Using the Pixlr app on my phone I applied a digital pixel filter and changed the size of the squares so as not to be too ambiguous or too obvious. I wanted some tension to remain between what the audience thought they were looking at versus what they were actually seeing. The name “Glitch Me” came from the aesthetics of the photos, which as I was told in a class crit, look like the type of photos one might have on a dating profile in order to invite the gaze. Cutting to the crudeness, in the same way, one might say “fuck me” as either an invite or expletive, “glitch me” in regards to a glitch being a movement, albeit an “incorrect movement” that one can invite on themselves.

Visually, one can tell by the colours that within the image there appears to be a white person with various shades of pink dyed hair in various clothes. Two also appear to have masks on which further hinders the identification (Although they were taken during the pandemic where masks were vital to safety) Although due to the pixelation, similar to the censorship in videos and books, their gender or identifying features are unknown which allows the audience to try to fill in the gaps for themselves. There are many approaches to making these glitches happen on demand, ranging from physical changes to the hardware to direct alternations of the digital files themselves. Artist Michael Betancourt identified five areas of manipulation that are used to create "glitchart."6 Although he notes that "glitch art" is defined by a broad range of technical approaches that can be identified with changes made to the digital file, its generative display, or the technologies used to show it (such as a video screen).7 Presentation-wise, this series will live as large scale photos or posters. Larger than a simple screen to show the importance of identity as well as how easy it can be lost. I like the idea of having these pixel portraits projected across a wall or screen that allows the audience to move between them, almost in a metaphorical stepping into the model's shoes. A number of artists inspired the Glitch Me Series. Firstly is the idea of Glitch Feminism by Legacy Russell. Glitch Feminism embraces the causality of "error" and turns the gloomy implication of "glitch" on its ear by acknowledging that an error in a social system disturbed by economic, racial, social, sexual and cultural stratification and the imperialist wrecking-ball of globalization—processes that continue to enact violence on all bodies—may not be "error" at all, but rather a much-needed erratum. 1 This glitching and becoming, I took rather literally, as an opportunity to link to previous work that looked at online messages, harassment and personas. Furthermore, I resonate with the idea of who decides the standards for which one “glitches” away, I’ve read a lot about the “grey man”, that is to stay fitting in, in order to not stand out and gain attention. Although in a world where there is no one size fits all to personalities or bodies, it is only natural for people to want to stand out and represent themselves in a label filled, box trapped world we live in. A Forbes review stated, "Glitch Feminism is a rallying cry, a recapturing of cyberfeminism oriented to include and spotlight the many queer and non-white voices who in their practice live out the awesome potential of an enmeshed digital feminism: the glitch."2 Linking this to the art world, what i am creating fits into the box of Glitch art which takes its definition from a glitch as “a short-term, accidental error in a system. Glitches are common in the world of technology.”5 On a vaster scale than any other period in recorded history, consensus fragmented; visible most evidently in political discourse in the latter half of the 2010s. There is, simultaneously, raw power in the opportunity to embrace and build new realities forged within the novel interconnectivity of digital spaces—the chance to understand and uplift realities no longer predicated on the absolutism of binary systems and vestigial colonial frameworks. 9 This opportunity as many do allows the self to expand and become more, Just think about how any persona you have depends on who you talk to. For example, my “Facebook” persona, is very different to my “Instagram” persona, which is different again from my “discord” persona, yet all are the same individual at the end of the day, that being myself. There is no one box I need to fit in, more one box I am defined by.

Secondary to this inspiration was Jean Faucheur 3. He takes images from different perspectives and distances and puts them together in one picture by dissecting the pictures and rearranging them in interesting compositions. Faucheur has been considered a prominent figure of urban art thanks to his talent as a pioneer, taste for rupture, and acute sense of sharing.8 I found his photography completely by change although I was drawn to the pixelation of his models through the editing progress of the photos. While “Gitch Me”’s edits are made digitally through filters, the cut and paste of Faucheur’s add an interesting element. Since 1983, he covered commercial billboards with his own paintings in order to highjack their function and showcase his artworks to the public, much to their surprise.4 Hijacking photos meaning, and in addition, the person in the photography links to how I want to present my work. Juxtaposing the person one sees and the person one is. What you see is not always what you get, although in a digital world of oversharing and overexpressing, could one be read from a single image? Some of his images can be seen below, and while the images just show the face being distorted they still communicate identity, distortion and belonging as one could wonder who or why a figure is being distorted. Is it for censorship or protection from the unsolicited? 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqNPgd5B3io 2 Damiani, Jesse. "On Embodying The Ecstatic And Catastrophic Error Of Glitch Feminism: Book Review". Forbes. 3 http://jean.faucheur.free.fr/# 4 http://www.jeanfaucheur.net/biocv 5 https://www.vectornator.io/blog/glitch-art#:~:text=The%20glitch%20art%20movement%20became%20popular%20in%20the,by%20artists%20like%20Pablo%20Picasso%20and%20Salvadore%20Dali. 6 Michael Betancourt, "Glitch Art in Theory and Practice," Cinegraphic.net May 20, 2016 7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitch_art#cite_note-19 8 http://www.slash-zine.com/en/daily/JEAN-FAUCHEUR

9 https://www.forbes.com/sites/jessedamiani/2020/10/15/on-embodying-the-ecstatic-and-catastrophic-error-of-glitch-feminism-book-review/