Keywords: Post-Internet Art, Digital Identity, Online Performance, Surveillance Capitalism, Amalia Ulman, Ed Atkins, Hito Steyerl, Glitch Feminism
Digital technology has changed how we think about the human body and identity. Today, who we are is shaped not only by our physical body but also by how we appear, perform, and behave online. In the Post-Internet era, the screen is no longer just a tool we look at—it has become a place where we act, present ourselves, and negotiate our identities. The line between our real selves and our online selves has blurred, creating a mixed, always-visible version of who we are.
The Curated Self: Performing “Authenticity” on Social Media
With the rise of social media, people do not simply “express” their identity—they build and edit it over time. Profiles, photos, and captions form a kind of performance. Instead of showing our natural selves, we often follow what platforms reward: certain aesthetics, poses, or lifestyles.
Social media is like a stage, where people learn which behaviors get attention and which do not.
A famous example is Amalia Ulman’s Excellences & Perfections (2014). Over several months on Instagram, Ulman created a fake persona who fit familiar online stereotypes—cute selfies, wellness routines, luxury shopping. Many followers believed it was real.
By carefully following Instagram’s visual rules, she revealed how much labor goes into appearing “authentic” online. Her project shows that being yourself on social media often means performing a version of yourself that the algorithm and your audience approve of.
Source: Amalia Ulman at Tate Modern
The High-Definition Abject: CGI Bodies and Digital Emotions
While social media encourages flawless, attractive images, another group of Post-Internet artists uses CGI (computer-generated imagery) to show bodies that are strange, uncomfortable, or emotionally intense. These digital figures may look extremely real, yet something about them feels wrong or impossible.
This style highlights a simple idea: the more perfect digital bodies look, the more they remind us how fragile real human bodies are.
One leading artist in this field is Ed Atkins. In his work Ribbons (2014), shown at the Serpentine Galleries in London, he uses a hyper-real animated man who sings, drinks, and shows despair. The body looks solid, but it has no weight, no physical presence—only emotional expression.
Atkins treats the digital body like a kind of “virtual corpse”—a shell moved by data instead of flesh. His works suggest that the digital world is not a place of escape, but a place where we confront emotions without the comfort of a real body behind them.
Source: Ed Atkins at Serpentine Galleries
Surveillance, Visibility, and the Politics of Resolution
Being online today also means being watched. Facial recognition, tracking tools, and data collection systems are everywhere. Visibility—which once meant empowerment—now often means being monitored, categorized, and sold as data.
As a response, many artists use techniques such as glitch effects or low-resolution images to make themselves harder to track. By breaking the image, they break the system’s ability to read it.
Hito Steyerl explores this in How Not to Be Seen: A Fucking Didactic Educational .MOV File (2013). Filmed on a resolution test chart in the California desert, the video humorously teaches viewers “how to disappear” in the digital age—from becoming as small as a pixel to blending into protected environments.
Steyerl argues that high resolution is not neutral—it serves surveillance and capitalism. Low resolution, or the “poor image,” becomes a tool for freedom. Sometimes, the safest place online is to be unreadable.
Source: Hito Steyerl at The Art Institute of Chicago
Summary
Post-Internet artists show that identity today is not fixed. It is created through interactions between our physical bodies and the digital systems that capture and display us. Through the staged social media identity of Amalia Ulman, the emotional CGI avatars of Ed Atkins, and the anti-surveillance strategies of Hito Steyerl, we see that identity is now a process—something we build, edit, and negotiate as we move through digital space.
About Artphiloso
Hi, I’m Philo, a Chinese artist passionate about blending traditional Asian art with contemporary expressions. Through Artphiloso, my artist website, I share my journey and creations—from figurative painting and figure painting to floral oil painting and painting on landscape. You'll also find ideas for home decorating with paint and more.
FAQs
- 1. How is Post-Internet art different from early Net Art?
- Early Net Art (1990s) treated the internet as a new, separate space. Post-Internet art assumes the internet is part of everyday life. Instead of living only online, the artworks often appear in physical galleries but deal with digital culture.
- 2. How does surveillance capitalism affect digital performance art?
- Platforms collect data from everything users do. Artists respond by trying to confuse or resist these systems—using glitches, avatars, or hidden images—so they cannot be easily tracked or predicted.
- 3. Why do some digital artists use grotesque CGI bodies?
- Because digital culture often promotes perfect, polished images, grotesque CGI bodies remind us of real emotions, flaws, and physical limitations. They challenge the “smooth,” idealized digital world.
- 4. Can a social media profile be considered a work of art?
- Yes—when an artist uses a profile intentionally, following or breaking platform rules to make a statement. This turns the profile into a performance piece, like in Ulman’s work.
- 5. What does the “Glitch” mean in identity politics?
- A glitch is a break in the system. In identity politics, it represents people who don't fit neatly into social categories. The glitch becomes a symbol of resistance—of refusing to be easily labeled or controlled.