Just like an Instagram story disappears in 24 hours 鈥� so to will this 麻豆传媒映画artist鈥檚 exhibit.
S谩ra Mol膷an, known for her exploration of how social media penetrates daily existence, is set to launch her latest thought provoking art series.
The one-day exhibit, LOVE/MADNESS, examines the relationship between social media, love, identity, trauma and our constant want for attention.
Mol膷an captures the universal desire to be liked through large-scale oil paintings and ads an extra layer of excitement with augmented reality. Viewers will be able to pan their phone over certain artworks to unlock animations and pop-ups, which further push the story behind her work.
鈥淭he show touches on our want to exist as much as wanting to be seen by someone,鈥� Mol膷an told 麻豆传媒映画.
Using herself as her muse, the artwork confronts how people curate and edit their lives on social media to appeal to audiences.
鈥淚鈥檓 always trying to tell a story,鈥� Mol膷an said.
鈥淲ith the 16 paintings that I鈥檓 debuting there are a few stories. It鈥檚 almost like an ensemble movie where I鈥檓 the only visible cast member. As much as I am my own muse, my life is my muse and it involves so many other people and it involves society in general. So it鈥檚 me, but it is also everyone.鈥�
She takes experiences from the digital world and recreates them in analogue format 鈥� including Snapchat snaps, Instagram stories, selfies, texting, and sexting.
鈥淢y work is quite photo realistic now,鈥� Mol膷an said. 鈥淚 take text messages and paint them 鈥� they are not real conversations but they are meant to be universal.
鈥淭he most common feedback I get is: 鈥� I feel like you stole something out of my phone.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 proof that it鈥檚 universal how relationships have shifted into this format where we rely on technology to communicate so much that it becomes a universal experience.鈥�
Mol膷an has gone through somewhat of a personal journey through her art, sharing more about herself and her personal struggles with each exhibition.
In her earlier work, she expressed her emotions through distorted images.
鈥淚 would paint the figure and then I would cover up the face. A lot of that had to do with not really understanding or being comfortable with who I am,鈥� Mol膷an explained.
鈥淚nstead of ever painting myself or anything that represented me, I tried to channel my emotions through paint in a different way. But it really wasn鈥檛 as fulfilling as telling my own story.鈥�
In her 2018 exhibition, Casually Indifferent, Mol膷an explored how trauma changes the way a person interacts with other people and the way people present themselves to the world through social media.
鈥淔or me, I came out of a very abusive relationship that I was in for nine years,鈥� Mol膷an said.
鈥淪o it was a culmination of taking a closer look at how I interact with people and why, but also, it was addressing the combination of wanting everything to appear like it is perfect, while in fact it is not.鈥�
Her latest work continues her exploration of relationships and delves into some of the implications involved when relationships are predominantly digital.
Mol膷an hopes LOVE/MADNESS will inspire personal reflection among viewers and evoke feelings through its relatable content.
Viewers are encouraged to download the phone app EyeJack 鈥� which will allow them to activate the hidden animations and pop ups within some of the artworks.
People are also welcome to take photographs and share Mol膷an鈥檚 work via social media to continue her cycle of 鈥渞emoving something from the digital world and then putting it back.鈥�
When it comes to social media and self-portrayal, Mol膷an said, like many others, she鈥檚 still figuring it out.
鈥淓very art series that comes, I鈥檓 thinking about social media because it is so ingrained in who we are now,鈥� she said.
鈥淭hrough this series it became really clear to me that I am just pixels 鈥� I only exist as much as I am willing to put out.
鈥淓verything is a statement.鈥�
LOVE/MADNESS features at The Arts Factory (281 Industrial Ave.) on Aug. 23.
