For my year-long senior project I created five books that explore my identities as they relate to social media and computer mediated communication. Through confronting my use of such media and how they have influenced me, I hope to encourage evaluation of one's everyday performances within the virtual space.

Book 1 / Digital Native: A visual journal expressing my feelings toward myself as a digital and physical entity interacting with a virtual space. I used materials such as vellum, mylar, and transparency film to distort and layer imagery as a metaphor for the fluidity and multiplicity of identity.

Book 2 / Moments Ago: This component creates narratives based around the ads served to me on Facebook. Because this advertising is targeted based on the data I supply via my online activity and social network, they represent my identity as interpreted by an algorithm. This book subverts the social constructions I am subject to, particularly my assumed sexual and gender identities. 

Book 3 / Mixed Messages: I explored the catharsis of posting by restricting my social media use, instead choosing to typeset and letterpress would-be status updates. Letter by letter, I had to sit with these words — both the insightful and painfully trite — and deny myself the satisfaction of public acknowledgement. The medium really is the message.

Book 4 / Privacy Settings: Pages printed on transparency film explored the fluidity and shifting nature of identity, and the conscious design of the self we present to others.

Book 5 / About: Here I provide synopses of each book and a Works Cited acknowledging all the sources I drew from throughout the project.

Poster / Two color screen print created as a takeaway for attendees of my thesis presentation. Variable edition of 100.