With this pop-art-esque work, artist Mark O Gorman aims to make you feel like “a person stuck behind a screen trolling through happy images on the internet”.
Parasocialising
By Mark O Gorman
Silkscreen and oil bar on canvas, 280cm x 210cm
1. This work is about . . . parasocial interaction. My work combines painting and silk screen to explore society as it manifests in user-generated social media. Silk screen allows me to experiment with quick disposable images, which reflects those found throughout the social network. I am interested in these social-media platforms as places outside of traditional geographic boundaries. The work re-edits the narrative of these social-media platforms to create a reconstructed parasocial landscape.
2. I made this work because . . . I wanted to investigate the relationship between society and social media or user-generated media platforms. This led me to build parasocial relationships with users. Through this form of interaction I began gathering material from user-generated profiles and extracting the quick, disposable images that flood these sites. Using this private imagery and placing it in a very public setting I start to question and challenge the controversial aspect of privacy in this social-networking realm.
3. I hope when people see this work they will . . . let the scale of the piece occupy their full vision and be totally submerged in it, then begin to feel a sense of isolation, like a person stuck behind a screen trolling through happy images on the internet.
4. In terms of art history, this work . . . stems from the pop-art and post-pop-art periods. The excessive use of portraits from online profiles give the work a “neo-Warhol” vibe.
5. You can see my work . . . in my studio on Capel Street and on my Instagram page, mark_o_gorman.
Curios About is a series featuring works by Dublin artists, curated for us by our friends at the Square in the Circle blog, and hosted there as well as here.
Each artist is asked to submit an image of one work and answer a set of questions about it. We’d love it if you’d submit something you’ve made.
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