Lauren Huret
Kimey’s feed, 12.05.2020
For the HEK Net Works series, the Geneva based artist Lauren Huret produce stories on Instagram for one week, directly drawing and re-using content posted by celebrities – in particular the Kardashian-West-Jenner family – who have an impressive number of followers and therefore accompany and define the daily lives of millions of people.
Huret's work examines systems of belief produced by the media, particularly social networks, over our habits and behaviours. The artist intelligently uses available technological tools. She overlays images and videos with graphic elements such as smileys, icons and texts.
Statement by the artist:
"For years, I have been fascinated by
the complete creation of public, staged self-fiction, and the private
sphere of celebrities, through the use of new technologies and social
networks. This total iconic production, highly mediatised, is for me
completely embodied in the figure of the Kardashian-West-Jenner. They
produce a new economy and new media rituals, and they generate a common
imaginary that seems both near and far thanks to social networks (and
convey sometimes problematic values). This week, by investing the HEK Instagram
account, I decided to post stories prepared, tinkered with, recomposed,
and made entirely from the material posted on Instagram by the
Kardashian-West-Jenner. Like painters depicting a landscape before their
eyes, I will compose these shots using only image editing applications
installed on my phone and tools set up by social networks to make
images. A sort of research journal, the stories created this week may be
an opportunity to rethink the worship, influence and imagery developed
by stars as new religious and political icons."