#SeeMySelfie at The Wonder Inn
Christopher Patrick Connolly
#See My Selfie is a photography exhibition, more social experiment than art, that documents a month of selfies that were collated within an online community built a year ago by Girl Gang Manchester. From the hash-tagged title down to the content, #SeeMySelfie is authentically born out of modern culture: 2010 saw the release of the first front-facing camera phone, from which the selfie trend went viral – Instagram was founded the same year. Now, though, selfies are being used by Girl Gang Manchester to explore female self-representation; the images on show have been chosen from thousands of photographs, submitted by over 200 women.
Studies have found that the average 16-25 year-old woman spends more than five hours a week taking selfies; in this exhibition, the images raise contentious questions about the boundary between self-love and narcissism. Visit The Wonder Inn before the exhibition closes on 30 May and you’ll see a catalogue of daily pictures, accompanied by creative captions, hung on the dimly-lit walls. The exhibition has been curated in a way that mixes self-confidence with self-doubt: the captions reflect this, whilst answering daily provocations posed by Girl Gang Manchester, such as ‘my best feature’, ‘something you’re insecure about’ and ‘be your own art’.
As a non-judgmental platform for female identity, the exhibition goes some way towards complicating the act of taking a selfie. Alongside it is the launch of Girl Gang Manchester’s new zine, and two other events: Speed Mate-ing, a Tinder-style meet and greet for friends in real life, and Thank Art, a drink and draw session in collaboration with Bury Art Museum.
