With the rise of the digital camera, then social media, then the smartphone that combines the two, we find ourselves in a selfie-obsessed culture. Selfies have the power to promote narcissism and a renewed societal obsession with appearance and self-presentation, further blurring the line between digital reality and real life. In an attempt to reappropriate the selfie from this stereotype of vanity, Darya von Berner has created (SELFI) for Abierto x Obras in Madrid, an installation which deals with issues of perception, attention, and self-representation. In the old cold storage room of Matadero Madrid, an out of use slaughterhouse that is now a center for innovative art projects, creative organic lights illuminate the entire space, exposing it to the public for the first time.
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DARYA VON BERNER | (SELFI) from Matadero Madrid on Vimeo.(SELFI) is a commentary on ecology, space, and the passage of time. The project has two key figures: the gallery itself and its active visitors. The lighting doubles the architectural space, suggesting a selfie of itself, an imaginary yet grandiose self-portrait. Visitors to the space reflect on their own self-representation and reveal a new image of themselves by paying close attention and observing themselves while being observed by others. The stark space and inventive lighting design opens up the space and simultaneously reminds and rejects its history: a cold storage room for slaughtered meat of centuries past, changed dramatically through both the Industrial Revolution and the Digital one. In the middle of the space, a spotlight in front of a mirror invites the viewer to see themselves in relation to the space and all it represents, and of course, to take a selfie.See images of the space below:
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