Samantha Humphreys

Before we had the technology that we enjoy today, art was used as a way to shape the perceived identity of those who ruled. In the time before photography, camera phones and celebrity imagery, leaders commissioned paintings and sculptures of themselves as a way to communicate a powerful image of themselves. It was a false representation but it was necessary to encourage and maintain the public’s confidence in them.

In today’s world we create an infinite self-portrait when we update our online status, forever commenting upon our evolving identities.