Chris Drange
Relics
More than seven hundred million people worldwide use Instagram every month, and the numbers are growing. Instagram is the medium for the perfect outfit, the perfect interior decor—the perfect moment. The most popular photo format is the selfie—self-portraits that present this perfection through reliable filters. Followers reward selfies with great admiration, envy, or even rejection.
This very special relationship between Instagram icons and their followers is observed in Chris Drange’s book Relics. Contrasting selfies from some of Instagram’s most successful users, such as Kim Kardashian or Selena Gomez, with selected comments from their followers, he draws a precise picture of the dynamic between the stars and their admirers. On double-spread pages against black backgrounds, and hardly bigger than a smartphone, this slim volume also visualizes a double-edged body image that oscillates between emancipation of dominant ideals of beauty and the digital body cult.
This book was realized in cooperation with the Materialverlag of the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg.