Misty encourages social media awareness
In a world where we are influenced by social media, it is sometimes good to remember that not everything we encounter online is a realistic reflection of reality. This has a major impact on how we experience and see reality and ourselves, often with negative consequences. To draw attention to this problem, Fontys ICT students developed Misty; an art object that contributes to awareness of this effect and shows what lies behind the perfect picture.
The perfect picture
The biggest houses, the most luxurious restaurants and individuals with perfect bodies; we see it passing by day in, day out on social media. But what we see are only the best moments, the highlights of each other's lives, often staged. The more likes, the better! We see around us a world full of perfection and success, but rarely do we see the reality of everyday life represented in that endless string of images. As a result, we start measuring ourselves against it, with the consequences.
Fontys ICT students Lisanne Verbeet and Lieke van der Voort followed the minor Arts & Interaction at St. Joost. They investigated this social problem of striving for perfection, where influencers and advertisements have a deep impact on our self-image and the way we present ourselves to the outside world. Thus, the project "The Filtered Perfection" was born with art object 'Misty' as its protagonist.
Misty
With Misty, Lieke and Lisanne want to break the myth of Instagram perfection, by fostering an awareness of the everyday reality we all experience. In an accessible and fun way, they want to show that this is what happens, that the real person behind a photo is more beautiful than the perfect photo itself.
The installation is an abstract representation of a person pretending to be different than she actually is. At the top of the sphere is a device that makes fog. The water evaporates and creates a curtain of mist around the installation. The fog symbolises the mask people wear to the outside world. LED strips run from the sphere, like veins, to a 3D-printed heart hanging in the centre of the installation. These strips have a coloured, pulsating heartbeat animation to make it colourful and vibrant. By adding sound to the installation, they try to reinforce the desired awareness. From one box, you hear only perfect things and from the other box comes a whisper of truth.
Innovations Insight
Lisanne and Lieke presented their installation during Innovations Insight. This was the ultimate moment for them to show what they have been working on during their minor. Misty made a striking appearance at the event, which did not go unnoticed. In fact, they achieved third place with Misty and were rewarded with a SPARC award. A nice appreciation for their valuable project!
Want to know more about Misty? Then watch the video below. Innovations Insight takes place every semester in the Fontys ICT InnovationLab at Strijp-T.
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