John Knoll’s 1988 photo Jennifer In Paradise aka “first Photoshopped image” has been shared so many times over the internet (losing detail each time) that the high-res original version has been totally lost. Artist Constant Dullaart’s excavation of this photograph’s history is the inspiration for his Jennifer In Paradise Series.
Dullaart takes a photo, “so recognizable and ingrained in our collective virtual memory that it is impossible to signify,” as DIS puts it, and runs it through modern photoshop filters to alter it even further. Last year, the artist wrote a fascinating open letter to Jennifer herself which he used as a public call to discuss our collective inheritance as members of an evolving online culture.
Dullaarts focus on the real stories of culture mediated by the internet sets his work apart from the pseudo-nostalgia used by many internet artists. His solo show is up at Carroll/Fletcher in London until July 19th. “Stringendo, Constant Mediators,” June 13 – July 19, Carroll/Fletcher, London. (Images: DIS)
