Rankin uses self-portraits to fight against selfies – and he wants you to participate

British photographer and director Rankin has already lobbied against selfies in a few of his projects (Selfie Harm, for example). In his latest project titled Selfie Control, the artist wants you to join him. He is fighting against selfies and is inciting all creatives to collaborate with him to create their own self-portraits.

As I believe you know, selfies and self-portraits aren’t the same. I even pointed out some differences between the two concepts in this article. Rankin explains that artists used to use self-portraits to explore ideas of self, through the creation of imagery that exposed intimacies or ideas of themselves. Some of them even used them as a personal and introspective artistic expression.” But as selfie culture has pervaded our screens and lives, it has also suffocated a unique form of artistic expression, the self- portrait.” And this is what Rankin wants to counteract with Selfie Control.

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SELFIE CONTROL Ever get the feeling that scrolling through social media is like Groundhog Day? Same selfies. Different day. I’ve loved taking portraits for over 30 years, but the selfie culture has suffocated a unique form of artistic expression, the self portrait. Filters, self-branding and the dreaded duck face are crushing creativity. I know – I do them toooo! BUT I want to change this, and I want to work with you to help me do it. I’m calling on all thinkers out there and asking them to send through their self-portrait ideas. I want concepts that are fresh, original and show a part of yourself you don’t show on social media. The best ideas will be selected, and then we will work together to make amazing portraits come to life. So, if you’ve got an idea, write it up or even draw it and please email it to selfiecontrol@rankin.co.uk for the attention of Jordan or of course dm my account here. Let’s create something meaningful together and lets stick it to the selfies! #selfiecontrol PLEASE do pass this on to people you think would benefit from it.

A post shared by Rankin Photography (@rankinarchive) on Apr 27, 2019 at 10:34am PDT

The photographer wants you to take back control with concepts that are fresh and original. What’s more, he asks you to show a part of yourself that you don’t ever show on social media. Are you up for it? Here are the propositions if you’d like to participate, along with some more details:

• If you’ve got an idea for a self-portrait, write it up, take a photo, or even draw it – whatever best illustrates your idea. Then, email it for the attention of Jordan to selfiecontrol@rankin.co.uk or DM @rankinarchive with #selfiecontrol.
• You can send as many ideas as you like, it doesn’t have to be just one.
• The project is open for people from all over the world. However, if you’re not from the UK, note that the travel and accommodation cost would be at your expense.
• When the best candidates are selected, they will be contacted and given some shoot dates.
• As for the submission deadlines, the project has just started so there are no clear deadlines yet. But you still have plenty of time, and we’ll update the article when the deadline is announced.

I’ve taken lots of self-portraits and I see them as a way to express my emotions and escape negative thoughts. Self-portraits can be a powerful artistic expression, and they are so much more meaningful than selfies. So, I personally really like this project and I’m looking forward to seeing all the winning ideas turned into images.