Project 2: Impossibilities of Being

“Curioser and curioser”

– Alice

Since a young age, Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s story of Alice’s adventures in Wonderland has always captivated my imagination. The White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat, Mad Hater and Queen of Hearts are just someĀ of the characters that display idiosyncratic characteristics and personalities that intrigue me. Through my interpretation of the story, I had hoped to bring viewers on a journey through Wonderland, retold through the eyes of a young 21st century boy, Alex, who falls through a similar rabbit hole and emerges in “Wanderland”. The journey plays on the use of social media as an everyday tool for documenting life events.

#AlexInWanderland

Screenshot (91)

@curiosr_n_curiosr is Alex’s Instagram handle and through this account he documents the adventures he has in Wanderland. All of his followers are able to see, like and comment on his posts. It’s fun, interactive and engaging. Who knows what will happen next before the next update? Alex’s environments changes, he grows and shrinks as he ingests things and he meets strange characters some of which we suspect are merely figments of his imagination, projected into augmented reality. In a way, Alex’s post are paradoxical and there is a sense of voyeurism as there are a lot of times we question who takes these photos for him. At the same time, all these are happening in real time and the updates are almost instantaneous.

The voyeuristic aspect of these images were inspired by Cindy Sherman’s works where her film stills largely imply that things are happening around her but yet she is oblivious to the camera and does not acknowledge the photographer, as if she is in a movie scene.

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