"Paul is Dead Inside".....

The image above is a drawing made to use as my profile picture on Facebook the “social utility that connects you with the people around you.” I became interested in the way that people choose to represent themselves on these profile pages. Generally people depict themselves as successful and happy perhaps in front of a famous land mark whilst on holiday. The selected image tends to capture an idealised representation; a popular, contented, well traveled sophisticate. I wanted to investigate this by capturing myself at my most private and vulnerable. In presenting a drawing of myself whilst in sorrow I reveal perhaps inappropriately my most intimate moments to a disinterested ‘world’. This can simultaneously be seen as a misguided cry for help or a negative self indulgence that contrasts with the superficiality of the favored depiction of oneself. This coincides with a constant status update that presents the ‘network’ with details of current activities. I consistently update my profile with negative or depressive updates such as; “Paul is dead inside” or “Paul is slipping away”. This too adds to the self indulgence that both contrasts with and typifies the nature of Facebook and sites like it. Below as the image appears in context.