We all want to present ourselves in the best way possible. But with the infiltration of social media into every aspect of our lives, its tempting to cross the line over from putting our best foot forward to presenting an inauthentic picture of who we are. In his work, artist Tristan Pigott examines our habits of self-projection and the superficiality we often perpetuate.
His compositions employ fashion models in the place of “ordinary” people, to further enforce the notion of the fronts and facades we create for ourselves. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of wanting every photo we post to be beautiful, to encite envy among our social media followers and to lead them to believe we live a life to which they should aspire. And maybe we do in some ways. But in other respects, each life is filled with the same sorts of gunk and uncomfortable human stuff that we are all too often so very careful to edit out. How many photos have you seen this holiday season of burnt cookies? Or a child in mid-meltdown because Santa didn’t bring exactly what he asked for? Not many, I’m guessing. I certainly didn’t post the photos of the burnt Honey Rosemary Pecans I made or my non-made up face upon waking first thing Christmas morning.
Why? Because I’m chicken. I don’t want the world to see the dark circles under my eyes or to know that I occasionally leave food in the oven just a bit too long. ( Oops guess now you know my secret! ). Like everyone else, I want the world to see my life as beautiful. But here’s the thing. Every life IS beautiful. Filled with beauty. It may not be magazine spread perfect, but each and every one of our lives is full of moments that take our breath away, that make us laugh and yes, make us mad or embarrassed. But what makes our lives the beautiful messes that they are is embracing the imperfectness, being able to laugh with and at ourselves. Letting people into our beautiful mess.
To see more of Tristan Pigott‘s work, please visit his website.
All images are via the artist’s website.
