Yeohyun Ahn

SELFIE + CODE

A selfie is a form of art. Over 1 million selfies are now taken every day. Selfies are not always as spontaneous as they seem. They can be a visual communication tool like any other that can be manipulated for purposes. Selfie + CODE is a collection of generative selfie series by using computer algorithms. The algorithmic processes expend the concepts of traditional self-portraits to generative and expressive visual languages conveying though or feeling as visual styles. The visual style was inspired by Impressionism, which is a 19th-century art movement that captures a moment, such as Claude Monet’s Sunrise, and Expressionism, expressing inner troubles and feelings of anxiety rather than technical skills or beauty, which is a traditional goal of art. The artist started taking her generative selfies, Selfie + CODE, in 2015 to raise awareness of Asian female faculty being isolated and marginal in a predominantly white institution. Her generative selfies have captured psychological moments to express those individual identities are devalued and deconstructed by a homogeneous institution and an ethnocentric group in the United States. It has been shared by social media. The virtual supporting system at Facebook, “Like”, by her diverse mentors and friends, helped her to persist and survive in a regionally isolated and exclusive community. Eventually, It has brought her psychological reconciliation and healing to succeed in dealing with difficulties. For VR Tour: www.artsteps.com/embed/5eca...