Screens. Young people and selfies

The exhibitions "The mask never lies" and "Francesc Tosquelles" are the context for proposing a new edition of Bioscopi, a permanent line of work of the CCCB with the educational community (schools, socio-educational organizations, families, ..) to explore the world around us using the resources and techniques of animation. This edition, "Antiselfies", proposes to work on the issues of identity and self-representation, based on two proposals: with primary school students we will build three masks to be aware of our dynamic and interactive identity; and with high school students we will observe our digital masks through selfies, to be able to unmask ourselves by creating a new, more authentic and original self-representation.

Training structure:

18.00 - 19.00. Theoretical framework: Liliana Arroyo

Personal identity is the set of characteristics that allow a person to recognize their uniqueness and be perceived as a different person from those around them.

Identity is not fixed or predetermined, but a process of construction that it begins in childhood, when we become aware of the self; intensifies in adolescence and consolidates in adulthood. This process is largely influenced by individual and social factors. In short, identity is subjective, dynamic and interactive. It depends on the self-concept and the different ways we represent ourselves to others, but it is in the interaction and with the external gaze that we have just set ourselves up. Identity is therefore an individual and a social element at the same time.

In the digital environment, the selfie is a unit of identity construction. We usually refer to selfies when we talk about self-portraits that we take with a camera or digital device. In a single gesture we become object and subject, and the rise of selfies is mainly due to the explosion of social media and smartphones. In fact, selfies have become an irrefutable proof of digital existence. From this point of view, we could say that a selfie is complete when we receive the last comment. They are actually a social event, because if they stay in the photo gallery without uploading, they do not allow us to claim our identity in that place and that moment. In other words, is a selfie really a selfie if it doesn't come out of our cell phone?

19.00 - 19.15. Speaking turn

19.15 - 19.45. Presentation of the new proposal of Bioscope: Antiselfies: Martina Rogers.

Based on these reflections, this third edition of Bioscope proposes animation as a tool to get out of the stereotypes of representation to which we are accustomed through digital platforms, where images with very specific aesthetic codes predominate; and it does so from two proposals:

Primary School Mode. A sum of masks.

We will put on and take off the masks to open our sense of identity as constantly evolving subjects.

To present ourselves to the world we use different masks: "I am the son / daughter of ...", " I am a student at the school ... ”,“ I am from ... ”. Depending on different circumstances and contexts, we may be different: we may not behave the same way at school as at home, with friends, or with family. Each of us unfolds different “selves” and we are a sum of all these faces that we show.

Identity is interactive and we need to represent it, so we will create an invention that allows us to reveal and make 3 masks that represent us in three different areas of our lives. How would we make a mask that represents us when we are alone, with friends or at school? From here we will create an animated portrait with the technique of stop motion.

Secondary school mode. Take off your mask.

We will do anti-self-use using plastic tools to represent ourselves in a different and original way.

How many times during the day do we capture our image? How are these images? What is a selfie? Is it still the case if we don't publish it? On what platforms do we share these portraits? Are we as far as we show ourselves?

The selfie is an exhibition of our own image, fulfills a social function and allows us to build and experience our own identity. However, these images are always conditioned by the gaze and reaction of the other because when we share them, we are exposed to the emotional response of our community of users. We belong to the extent that other gazes recognize us. This surely makes our self-representation seek to project an attractive identity that meets the approval of those who observe us. So what are these guarantees of success? Are there any unwritten rules in the world of selfie? Do we feel conditioned or pressured to represent ourselves in one way or another? What is the role of digital filters and masks?

In the face of all these questions, this activity invites you to build an "anti-self" to represent you in a different and original way. These new identities that we will capture, we will give them movement through the Stop-Motion technique and will be part of FaceTrue, a new social network that allows us to unmark ourselves collectively and show new selves that have so far remained hidden.

19.45 - 20.00. Speech and farewell