Credits and partnerships:
Attention is a new project by Paolo Cirio published in September 2019.
In collaboration with Influencer Law from Maastricht University & Studio Europa
and lead by Catalina Goanta's research study.
This series of artworks are currently shown at NOME Gallery in Berlin for Paolo Cirio’s solo show Images Rights:
https://paolocirio.net/press/soloshow_images-rights.php
Attention
Project description:
https://paolocirio.net/work/attention/
This series intervenes in the attention economy of advertising by social media influencers. Particularly looking at the language of the photographic medium on Instagram, Attention appropriated photos by influencers who promoted controversial products without disclosing them as paid advertisements. The work deconstructs how Instagram influencers deploy their own particular language of advertising, and therefore interrogates the arbitrary visuals that determine the value and utility of our attention in becoming commodified. The photos are analyzed by zooming into the visual details to reveal highly constructed photography. The imagery of the narcissistic, sexualized, and idealized self is a performative language of the attention economy that became canonized, both to convey perfection and spontaneity. The image is meant to be familiar, effortless, natural in its fabrication; advertisements seamlessly appear to be authentic life. This artwork aims to break the construction and formality of this photographic language; by decoding the images, their mechanism is highlighted. As a form of public action, printed compositions are posted on walls to return the subtle online advertising to its detectable form. In addition, a website for the project allows the public to collect and report deceptive adverts by online influencers.
Full press kit with material in high resolution:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1teb51x42xqo5e6/AAA8GriVR5I02mVWKu2I5dyba/Attention
Pictures in high resolution and web gallery on Flickr:
More about the artist:
Paolo Cirio - Artist
Web: https://PaoloCirio.net
FL: https://flickr.com/paolocirio
TW: https://twitter.com/paolocirio
LI: https://linkedin.com/in/paolocirio
YT: https://youtube.com/c/paolocirio
FB: https://facebook.com/paolo.cirio.art
IG: https://instagram.com/paolo.cirio.art