Deep fried virtues : analysing the influence of social media on leisure through painting

Abstract

This practice-based research began with a general curiosity about what leisure means today. The investigation first explored leisure as a place for reflection, creativity, and human development. However, it soon became evident that social media, through its pervasive presence and influence had become one of the most important factors reshaping contemporary leisure. As a social media user herself, the researcher became increasingly aware of how digital platforms shape habits of attention, perception and agency. What stemmed from a habitual observation evolved into a critical investigation of how social media conditions not only what one consumes, but also how time is spent. This exploration was approached through artistic practice, where material processes offered a way to slow down, reflect, and reconfigure the ephemeral content of digital leisure into more permanent, contemplative artefacts. Through making, the research examines how visual language can both reflect and resist the fast-paced, saturated dynamics of online culture. This project is situated within a border lineage of artists who have responded to cultural and technological changes through visual experimentation. In this context, artistic practice becomes a method of inquiry and criticism, providing an opportunity to reconsider what leisure means in the digital age. As such bridging theory with practice in order to investigate multidisciplinary subjects of the humanities through art. Ultimately, this research and its project seeks to challenge the passive, habitual consumption associated to user’s interactions with digital media and reclaim leisure as a place of reflection for both the creator and the viewer.