Crafting Identity on Instagram: Authentic Expression or Manufactured Image?

Abstract

Social networks are often considered by default as something fake, but constructing one's image online does not necessarily entail presenting a falsified version of oneself. This work intends to investigate the dynamics of social media when it comes to self-representation and aims to examine how these media fit into our personal expression. The first chapter analyzes the earliest tools used for self-representation yet focusing specifically on the selfie. Taking some artworks as an example, among which Sol LeWitt's "Autobiography", my thesis intends to explain how we are increasingly closer to a dissolution of the face. The second chapter examines the role of social platforms in creating and displaying our digital identity, and how we can take total control over our social media profiles. Through artworks of artists such as Qualeasha Wood and Erin M. Riley, it is evident how crucial it is, especially in the case of the female body, to reclaim control over our own image. The third chapter covers the issue of social media reliability by examining digital filters and their influence on the perception of the created image. A focus is devoted to the work of Corinne Mazzoli, an artist who, by appropriating and hacking the online tutorial as a tool for critical reflection, developed the concept of counter-tutorial and employed it as a means of self-representation. In sum, this study aims to analyze the contemporary context in which we all present our image on the Internet, highlighting how social profiles can be seen as faithful autobiographies.