Catalogue Screen, Screen on my Phone, Who's the Fairest of Them All?

Looking for oneself has been a journey throughout history. In this quest, humankind has used various technologies, from dark reflective water and luxury mirrors on walls, to the screens on our phones. We have created myths and fairytales around these mirrors, delivering warnings about fragile humanity and its values. Mirrors have also been used to entertain drunk guests or laugh at (bully) them at public celebrations.

Today, an object that reflects a “clear” image of oneself is the screen of our phones. The hidden and fast-evolving cameras behind those screens now show us our clear, distorted, adjusted and beautified faces - the protagonists of contemporary fairytales. With face filters on a daily basis, we are engaged in a ritual of masking in front of our phones, challenging binary structures, and experiencing another self. All while feeding into exploitative social media production, ambitious startups and AI development. With every technological development, a slice of fiction becomes a reality. Fiction is a temporary state of identity searching for freedom of movement and expression. While being occupied with ourselves, new fairytales are being produced.