Name: Josie Struyk (she/her)
What is the inspiration behind your project?: I’ve always liked drawings of eyes because they’re very good at conveying emotions by themselves. The eyes were inspired by camera lenses, and the outline was inspired by binary code.
Reflect on what you hope to communicate through your project: The purpose of the outline in binary code was to convey the feeling that I’m a product of technology. Social media has changed me a lot. At times, I conform to trends just for the sake of doing what everyone else is doing instead of being my own person—as if I were coded to do so in order to meet others’ expectations of me. The eye bags and red eyes show the sleep I’ve lost from scrolling on my phone late at night, and the crease in the brows shows distress from being on my phone for a concerning amount of time. The irises and pupils are camera lenses because of how every experience is captured on video instead of just enjoyed in person with the naked eye.
How do you hope your project will make an impact for yourself and/or others? : I hope it pushes me and others to communicate with people without using technology as much, to experience more things without a screen, to shut of our phones earlier so we can get more sleep, and to be our own person no matter what we see on social media.