I Am Dead But I See My Existence, 2019

Interactive Installation

Interactive Installation, Exhibited at "I am … Exhibition", Building 21, McGill, Apr 2019

This artwork attempts to show the alienation of my online self by employing Erving Goffman’s notion of dramaturgy: photos on the wall with the random masking wearing off effect compared to the high resolution of the same photos showing on the iPad.

I remember every time when my parents took out their photos, telling me their stories; we immediately had a journey to the past, and I could still feel those stories were so alive even though those photos were in black and white or some parts were even washed out. Those photos really did their jobs to record every precious moment.

However, when I am looking at my Facebook photos, I feel I am so separate from the “me” showing in those photos. I can see myself; I can recognize myself in the photos. BUT, it doesn’t construct for me a feeling that I literally existed at those moments.