Whether you appreciate the occasional selfie or think it’s an exemplary form of human narcissism – it’s difficult to deny that it has become a fundamental aspect of culture. Even if you’re not taking one yourself, you still see (and probably judge the quality) of at least one every day as you scroll through your feed.
In a bid to analyse the role selfies play in today’s society, two game designers decided to chart the rise of self-portraiture over the last 40,000 years by launching an exhibition of selfies throughout time. They insist that the Museum of Selfies is not of selfies per say, but rather about them.
And because we’re the Instagram generation, the creators decided to take a Museum of Ice Cream-esque approach (turning the museum into an experience within itself) inviting visitors to not only view the artwork, but experience it as well.
In an interview with W magazine they elaborated on the exhibition, “From cavemen drawings to a ‘Narcissist’ installation to a vertigo-inducing rooftop selfie illusion, the museum touches on a variety of points in human history that examines the intention of the selfie and what it means to the artist and its viewers. And don’t worry, there will be plenty of highly-visual, selfie-taking opportunities throughout the exhibit”.
While the selfie-taking opps are something we’re all looking forward to, you might also feel quite unsettled as you walk through the ‘Narcissist’ installation, as it essentially tackles the negative effects of the “selfie phenomenon”. The 8,000 square-foot museum will also include an entire section devoted to ‘death selfies’, aka photo opps that lead to fatal accidents—apparently this happens a lot.
The pop-up museum is set to open its doors on April 1st until the end of May.
