I began thinking on the project as if I were to observe what a relationship would look like in the 21st century and how they are presented. Instagram, being one of the biggest online platforms that uses photography, has easily accessible accounts and images that show what I look for. I began searching using the hashtags ‘relationship’ or ‘relationship goals’ which I have seen used time and time again. I found it interesting to see the things which came up, from couple images, to self portraits and quotes about relationships in general. If I’ve learnt anything from my previous project, its that relationships come in an array of forms and the way they are communicated depends on the audience. For example: intimate images are going to be presented differently to a posed picture on a beach, or a smiling picture with your parents. Instagram has the platform to share all and that is interesting to me given how publicly it is shared.
My Profile
I then decided to look closer at my own profile and examine the things I have shared onto my own page. The images shown show self-portraits and some coupled images with my partner. The body language over time has changed, also my confidence to share our personal images too. I think it could be interesting to recreate some of our old pictures or go out and experiment taking images of each other. I would have liked to give Will the camera for a change and allow him to document me the way I at times have documented him. The first way I properly did this was in the book project in second year, where I found love for documenting my relationships in a domestic and documentary style. This is something I would like to hold onto.
Towards the end of the last project, I also re-found my love for Polaroid photography. I think it could be nice, if the funds are available to me, to experiment more with polaroid photography again and take new images to help create new work. I have also found apps which allow you to shoot the images in a way which presents them in the format you like, Polaroids being an option. So this could be a low-cost way of doing this.
I then began watching some videos on YouTube, where people have also considered how the 21st century and technology have changed relationships as a whole and also the way people represent themselves on social media. The video discusses how identities can be shaped with the use of social media, talking about online identities vs the identity in the physical world.
Another Ted Talk discusses the effects of social media on relationships. It talks of how dependent young people are on apps to communicate with others and prohibits them from creating real, meaningful relationships with others in the real world. Ghosal discusses the difference between a fake and a real relationship, based on her study around the subject. It is often left unsaid, but impressionable people can be taken advantage of especially on social media, where you can pretend to be anyone.
Emily Ryder 