Instant cameras are greatly underappreciated- their inconspicuous, playful, and lighthearted nature afford subjects to open up more naturally than to say, a 'proper' camera. They do a great job equalising the power dynamic that exists between a photographer and their subject in a way that generates authenticity. Instant film also combines the incessant need for instantaneous media with our love for the 80s film aesthetic. The ability of instant film to tangibly render moments in real-time makes sense of a physical world that has strayed too far online. The following is a collage display that practices gratitude towards friends, family, and spaces, that make each day so meaningful. 

Globalisation, the internet, and technologies through the digital age have revolutionised the way we see, use, take, and interact with the image. Photography is now more accessible than ever before, with nearly everyone in the world having access to some sort of camera- whether it be a simple (albeit still extremely capable) phone camera or a prosumer-grade camera. As a result, photos have become synonymous with screens, with other photo mediums such as printing, film, projection, anything physical really, are a dying art form. There is an expectation that everything needs to be now. In our desire for instantaneity, the bleeding screen aesthetic is a caution of danger. My work’s failure to resolve detail and accurately display high-resolution images foreshadows the consequences of a mindlessly encoded life of photos and memories lived on devices and social media platforms. Like Penelope Umbrico’s use of dated technological screens, monitors, and displays, my use of found TV and screen imagery on the platforms of Facebook and Gumtree is a protest against the generation of new images. This work breathes life into old images that will otherwise be forgotten as bits of code and data. Their reimagined existence speaks further to a world where we can be more appreciative of what we have now and in the moment.