Survival of the Instagrammable

series of augmented plants, 2021-dato

„Survival of the Instagrammable“ describes a series of plants that evolved over time to become cuter and therefore more instagrammable. Their photo worthiness secures their continued existence and saves them from being weeded out and going extinct. The augmented speculative plants can be experienced through a digital device such as a smartphone or tablet.

Background
National Parks such as the Orchid Forest Cikole Lembang in Indonesia are establishing a brand identity as an instagrammable digital tourist destination by making pine forests into attractive photo spots and presenting rides within the park with appealing lighting concepts to appear instagrammable.    The high interest of the public to take photos and share them on social media encourages the tourism industry to update and make old-fashioned tourist destinations more contemporary. With Insta-walls in commercial spaces, shopping malls  etc., places are constructed to look inherently photogenic.This not only affects the appearance of our environment, but also models our lives and influences how we will plan our days and view our surroundings in the future.


As individuals, we increasingly plan our trips based on the Instagram-ability of the places we will visit.The biggest risk in doing so is to produce an idealised image of an environment, which in turn can very easily erode once we are confronted with factual social problems.    "Selfie politics is attention politics: it's about who is seen, who gets to occupy the visual field," writes author Rachel Syme. So hypothetically, what if this pressure to look more photogenic could affect the evolution of flora and fauna, since selfie politics is attention politics and becoming more instagrammable increases the chances of survival?    The "Survival of the Instagrammable" could be just another outgrowth in the age of the Anthropocene.