After the Filter
Project Introduction
This photography project explores the role of selfies as a tool for identity construction in the digital age. Through post-processing, I actively utilize the “affordances” of filters and editing software, not to deceive, but to explore and express different dimensions of my inner self. Each image is a question: beneath the layers of filters, what is real?
1.”Excessive Pleasure”-Is the beauty of algorithmic recommendation also a kind of taming?
2.”Hold Your Breath”-When color is stripped away, are emotions more exposed?
3.”Broken Breath”-Beyond perfection, does there exist a more genuine flaw?
The three photos all show my different moods, which I emphasized with different filters.
1.”Today’s version for you”-Happiness can be a choice or a performance.
2.The sense of security in anonymity – sometimes, hiding can express oneself better than showing.
About the Work
This project originated from a simple question: Why am I never satisfied with the original photos in my phone album?
I realized that the moment I opened the photo editing software was when I truly began to “speak”. Increasing the exposure was my way of wanting to appear more optimistic; adding a cold-toned filter was my attempt to preserve the sense of detachment at that moment; and the bold collages and distortions were my small rebellions against a fixed identity.
What is presented here is not a polished version of me, but the act of “polishing” itself – it is the digital brush I use to explore my inner emotions and cope with the outside world. These images are my diverse and honest answers to the question “Who am I?”
Hejun Wang24020546 