The Portrait

I created a social network; The Portrait, a self portrait defined by its members.

Unlike most social networks, there is only one human member, me. However, I show different representations of myself as separate member profiles. The members include; The Hockey Fan, The Serious Guy, The Movie Lover, The Creative, The Goody Goody, The Funny Guy, and Dave. Each with different representations of myself shown by what is shared on each of their profiles and by the interactions with each other on the wall comments and status updates. This reflects society’s ability to digitally invent/reinvent themselves through online communities such as facebook, twitter, myspace, etc. By sharing specific, minimal, or partial disclosure of information about who someone really is, the viewer is forced to make their own conclusions about who someone appears to be. This extends the question of authenticity of its users and how truthfully they represent themselves.

This is further elevated by the profile pictures used to represent myself in The Portrait. There is a major trend to become someone else, even become a celebrity (or look like a celebrity). This is seen today, with the growing popularity of plastic surgery and Botox appointments of our day. All of the profile pictures are a digital version of plastic surgery, where I morphed my face onto celebrity/well known figures of today. This reflects our fascination of being someone else, maybe even becoming someone else.

Reality shows, magazines, and all forms of media encourage our ability to change. Even without things like cosmetic surgery, the digital world provides us with the ability to globally reinvent and represent ourselves. Today you could be the funny guy - if you choose to be.