In an period the place digital presence typically defines our id, photographer Reze Bonna and make-up artist Rachael Darné come collectively to current a thought-provoking conceptual collection titled “A(m) (I)?.”
They invite viewers to mirror on the profound implications of our digital age, the place the strains between genuine and synthetic turn out to be more and more blurred. By capturing the nuanced dynamics between the cybernetic and human fashions, Reze Bonna and Rachael Darné, problem viewers to contemplate the price of technological integration on our sense of self and the way forward for human creativity.
The collection begins with “Looking,” a visible the place an android, holding a duplicate of her face, scans her environment. This picture is a metaphor for the fashionable quest for self-identity amidst the overwhelming presence of digital constructs. The android’s indifferent but looking out gaze questions whether or not we’re shedding ourselves in our pursuit of digital perfection.
Because the collection unfolds, it dives deeper into the dynamics between people and machines. In “Consumer,” a human mannequin strikes a pose paying homage to {a magazine} cowl, her each transfer noticed by an android. This picture encapsulates the attract and stress of sustaining a meticulously curated digital persona.
The depth heightens in “Information,” the place the android cradles the human’s head, symbolising the intimate and generally invasive interactions between people and expertise. This visible metaphor speaks to the deep connection we now share with our algorithms, tailoring our digital experiences to suit our wishes, typically at the price of our true selves.
“Follower” takes a extra unsettling flip, portraying a human mannequin joyfully discarding her human face in favour of an android one. This act of give up to digital id displays the rising development of moulding our on-line personas to suit idealised requirements, pushed by the insatiable want for validation in a world the place likes, shares, and followers typically dictate price.
In “Content material,” the transformation reaches its peak. The human mannequin stands alone, going through the digicam, her face changed fully by an android’s. This picture captures the second of full assimilation right into a digital id, elevating questions on the price of this transformation on our real sense of self.
The ultimate photographs, “Validate” and “Authenticate,” convey the collection to a bittersweet shut. In “Validate,” the android holds the discarded human face, a gesture that raises essential questions concerning the worth of human id inside our more and more digital world.
“Authenticate” then leaves viewers with a picture of the android gazing straight into the digicam, holding yet one more android face, emphasising the limitless cycle of looking for and defining id by digital platforms.
Reflections
The collection highlights issues about generative AI’s rising affect in artistic fields. The human mannequin’s transformation into an android symbolises the potential overshadowing of genuine human creativity by synthetic constructs. This metaphor captures the strain artists expertise as they navigate AI’s impression on artwork, music, literature, and different types of expression.
It additionally explores how social media impacts private id, with the human mannequin progressively adopting an android face, representing the stress to evolve to idealised, curated on-line personas. Titles like “Consumer,” “Follower,” and “Content material” emphasise the lack of real self-identity in favour of a digital facade.
Credit:
Images + Shoot Director: Reze Bonna
Make-up + Inventive Director: Rachael Darné
Assistant Make-up: Bontle Nxumalo
Stylist: Ozzy Lee
Assistant Stylist: Hlagudi Junia
Videography: Sean Muila
Fashions: Kebaabetswe Sebola and Thembi Makamba
