"A Selfie a Day Keeps the Doctor Away" is an ongoing Instagram series of self-portraits that combines society's technology-driven vanity with unusual references from advertising, culture, and art (@mikemellia). On Instagram, the prototypical "selfie" usually lies at one of two extremes: either mundane normalcy or unbridled megalomania.
In this work I photograph myself and include captions that highlight the surreal, the banal, the duplicitous, or the exhibitionist aspects of photography that technology is encouraging. The projects is also a social experiment to see what my colleagues' reactions would be when bombarded daily with pictures of myself accompanied by outrageously bragging claims like: "That one time I developed film using only my mind," or "That one time I played backgammon in an old warehouse in Mongolia."
On Instagram, for example, the way you portray yourself can allow you to become this larger-than-life figure even if that specific lifestyle isn't necessarily truthful. In fact, it's interesting that users are now either consciously or unconsciously "branding" themselves in the same manner that large corporations create brand identities through their advertising.
In this Instagram series, "A Selfie a Day Keeps the Doctor Away", I appear as a different character in each portrait, illustrating the way that social media is changing our language of visual communication. They way that many people are currently using photography on their mobile phones is becoming more and more a storytelling tool rather than strictly an artistic endeavor. In this series I wanted to bring back this emphasis on a beautiful and timeless quality while still maintaining a strong conceptual element.
There are many references to art history, advertising, pop culture, and fashion. Looking back to the great historical painters as well as the old masters of the Renaissance era, it becomes clear that portraits as well as self-portraits served a specific purpose, and were some of the earliest influences on modern fashion photography.
In Rembrandt's works, for example, the luxurious textures of one's elaborate wardrobes are showcased while in others' works indulgent food and jewelry might be arranged in extravagant still life. These paintings were made for and of important subjects, and it's interesting that these same themes are translated to Instagram and persevere several hundred years later. The only difference is that now the privilege of the aristocrats to document their extravagant lifestyles has been democratized to the general public through cellphone technology and social media.
Returning to this Instagram series, I also began creating video loops in addition to traditional still portraits to create an even greater feeling of uneasiness or surrealness. Specifically, in many of the loops there is a tension between the everyday and the bizarre due to the combination of photographic stillness and an unexpected element of the animation. The series was conceptualized specifically for Instagram's format of image plus a short caption; the format is ubiquitous yet unique because the text can be used to either highlight and exaggerate certain elements of the image, or to create a contradiction and a conflict with what's being presented.
In my work as an advertising photographer, many of these themes are of course also relevant throughout the world of modern advertising as well. Certain products can infer different messages when placed in aspirational contexts, or appear more utilitarian and approachable through subtle product placement. All of these tools and psychologies of traditional advertisers are now being used by individuals, either consciously or subconsciously, as they create their own "brands" through this new style of visual communication.
Follow along with this series on Instagram @mikemellia or visit http://www.instagram.com/mikemellia