UGLY MIRROR

UGLY MIRROR

2018, 400 x 35 x 1120 mm, black MDF, mirror glass, ink, steel, glue

The ugly mirror was made because of the interest I have for the current digital era. People consume and kind of live on social feedback presented to them on a small iPhone screen. The challenger was making something which captures the insecurities provided with the digital age and microscopes them, whilst downgrading them to less than nonsense. The ugly mirror only lets its viewer see a slightly distorted image, making it almost impossible to see the pretty selfie-face many people so desire. On the other hand, the distortion makes it unreasonable to not like your own image, as it is not you who is not beautiful, no, it is merely an ugly mirror; it is the mirror’s fault. The text provided, alongside your wobbly looking face, empowers this thought. As if the mirror is saying; “hey, you look nice but also repulsive; it is your choice which to believe most.”

The main difficulty was getting the right amount of distortion in the mirror. This was accomplished my pressing the mirror unevenly onto the black MDF, and using a thick, unevenly spread layer of glue. The text was printed onto the mirror, and the chains were simply screwed in with anchor points.