Through revisiting the exhibition ‘Performing for the Camera’, I was reminded of Amalia Ulman’s 2014 Instagram Performance piece entitled ‘Excellences and Perfections’. I have been thinking about the character who will star in the film and their backstory, so looking at artists who create alter-egos and characters who perform has been very useful for me.
Ulman created an account which documented an aspiring it-girl’s quest for perfection – this almost foreshadowed the way digital spaces are now occupied and predicted our current behaviours.
Her character embodied female tropes which were popular on Instagram and her documented journey was split into three parts – ending in a boob job and a public apology, before revealing that it was an art piece. The piece demonstrated that there was a formula for racking up followers – a very selective representation of reality and was ultimately a critique of unattainable body ideals and gendered expectations.
