This composition explores nostalgia and authenticity in social media, specifically on Instagram. My aim is to explore what accounts like @the70sperspective, @90s.daily, @vintagescenes, and @thatdiscobabe, all with over 100,000 followers are tapping into. What once served as a simple space for photographers to share their perspectives has become a digital archive for anyone and everything from individuals, to pets, and businesses. I have had an Instagram since I was thirteen. Throughout that time, the platform has gone through many changes and updates including the addition of advertising, the idea of the “follower-following” ratio, increasing likes, and the creation of Instagram influencers. As Instagram grew, its innate purpose as a simple platform for quick artsy snapshots of life became muddled. One specific trend that came about was pursuing a certain aesthetic like a specific time period based on one’s fashion style or filter used throughout their Instagram feed.
Through this project, I aim to curate an Instagram feed with a specific aesthetic, a general “vintage, retro, nostalgia” one. Each feed refers to a specific time period, from the sixties or seventies to the present. Growing up in the digital era, I feel as though there exists a collective longing to experience life without social media and the ease of digitization. This series represents this longing for more slow processes like developing film or listening to vinyl. The prints were made to replicate an Instagram feed as seen through an iPhone screen. The images vary from objects to individuals to scenes that should inspire a feeling of nostalgia within the observer. I draw inspiration from movies set in the 70s, resurfacing fashion trends (flared pants, hoop earrings), magazine ads from the eighties, and the rise of vinyl and film photography. The objects in my photographs may be modern remakes or truly vintage – it is this seamless intersection of past and present, authentic and not, that interests me most.
