A Flicker In Time
January-May 2023
"In societies where modern conditions of production prevail, all life presents as an immense accumulation of spectacles. Everything that was directly lived has moved away into a representation." (Guy Debord , “The Society of the Spectacle, 1967)
This project explores the ‘spectacle’ that modern society lives in today. Using Guy Debords book, ‘society of the spectacle’ as reference, A flicker in time sheds light on topics such as celebrity worship, lack of privacy, and passivity stemming from conformity and monotony.
In the process of writing and illustrating this book I found myself intensely studying various philosophical ideologies as well as consuming parallel media such as ‘simulation and simulacra'‘ by Jean Baudrillard and the ‘myth of Sisyphus’ by Albert Camus, among others, in an attempt to find answers to all the questions that the topic had raised, most pressingly; is it even possible to escape the spectacle when it has infiltrated every aspect of our lives altering the lens through which we view the world itself?
This book is not a solution (I haven’t found one yet) but, a commentary on the current way of life and its absurdities when viewed from the outside. In a time where the boundaries of the digital and physical world have blurred and appearances have taken over reality, A Flicker in time follows how a child entering the internet for the first time, might perceive it.
Character Designing
World Visualization
Chapter Illustrations
Poem Examples
Themes
Absurdity of Life
The idea of what is normal continues to evolve. Rules and routine are laid down to provide structure to society but these ever-changing norms are treated as an absolute and we bizarrely adhere to these rigid guidelines of happiness and success regardless of whether they work for us or not.
Illusion of Freedom
The current society we live in packages and sells us ‘the idea of freedom’. In terms of how an ideal life must be led, products that we buy, and things we must experience. Our choices are numerous but they exist within a tight boundary of right or wrong. Anything that toes the line of ‘normal’ is rejected and ostracized from society.
Digital vs Physical Identity
Though we claim the physical world to be ‘the real world’, when we live nearly 50% of our lives on an alternate digital universe and let it rule our actions and emotions, does it not become just as real? the internet is an ever expanding universe within which we choose how we wish to be perceived, and so there is a dichotomy between who we are and who we want to be seen as.
Tools used: Adobe Indesign, Adobe illustrator, Adobe photoshop, Procreate. Water colour used in ideation process