Roper Gallery Presents: ‘Self Not Selfie’

In a culture obsessed with social media, are the images you post a true representation of yourself? Since smartphones have taken over the market for cell phones, people are constantly searching, scrolling, swiping, and repeating. But, are all the hundreds of posts and pictures you like a portrayal of reality or an image that is skewed to satisfy followers? Roper Gallery’s ‘Self Not Selfie’ exhibition was a call “for self portraits that investigate the challenges of self portraiture in our over-saturated selfie culture.” These photographs were meant to be a true self-portrait or a metaphor to represent oneself in whatever way the artist would feel valid.

There were 40 photographs overall, ranging from expected self-portraits, Snapchats, cubist style geometric portrayals of oneself, someone alone in a field, and a hand full of needles just under the skin’s surface. In all the photographs, a story was told in some way. Whether it be the artist’s intentional message or the viewer’s interpretation, a form of a self was presented to the audience that was not in the form of a standard social media selfie.

The gallery was full of images that were fighting the norm of what an acceptable ‘selfie’ is. In today’s world where it is expected that all moments of your life should follow a certain aesthetic and an entire photo shoot is required to make a post on Instagram, people’s true selves are easily lost in the hashtags and Facetuned images. In this current reality, everyone’s life is expected to be picture-perfect at all times and that truly does now begin at birth. The children of celebrities have their own Instagrams and cult followings, teenagers are more sexualized than ever before, and people are expected to post everywhere they go and follow everyone they have ever come into contact with. When you see all the comparison posts of 12-year-olds now and 12-year-olds 10 years ago, it is a direct result of the over-saturated selfie culture surrounding social media. The lives of children are broadcast at a younger age, and they are more comfortable staring at an iPhone screen for hours than reading a book or looking out the window.

Roper Gallery’s ‘Self Not Selfie’ Exhibit makes you think about your use of technology and the way you present yourself on social media. It makes anyone consider if that is a true representation of who they are and what their life is like. This competition drew works of art from all over Maryland and even the country. There was a black and white and color category and students had multiple entries that would be considered for prizes. The adjudication was done with Drexel University’s Photography Program Director, Paul Runyon. In the color category, first place went to Grant M. Greider with the photograph “Great Weapon,” and second place went to Allison DeBritz with the photograph titled “F*cked Up Belfie.” In the Black/White category, first place went to Jesse Brooks with “Untitled(Self- Portrait),” and second place went to Daniel Roa with “Self Portrait.”

The gallery is truly a thought-provoking experience and will make anyone take a second look at their social media and posts. There is absolutely no shame in being active on social media and having a well thought out aesthetic to your Instagram, but before your next post just think about whether the image on the page is who you really are and what you stand for.