10 Questions with Taline Balian

“Portrait being at the center of my practice, and the over-saturation of faces on social media platforms, led me to develop the concept of ‘Social Media Faces’.
The majority of us quickly embraced Social Media, as it offered an active alternative to a so-called “perfect world”; a simulation of happiness. Unfortunately, the overwhelming setup of that proposed virtual world is gradually directing humans to a peak of collective blindness, to a heavy illusion of security and well-being. The troubled setup of that proposed virtual world and the fast increase in the number of users pretending and becoming somebody else in that virtual realm leads to the struggle of keeping a genuine self and to huge disruption to the relation with organic experiences, a primary human characteristic.

Affected by this collective numbness, I was led to hooking even more with the need to do as much as I could possibly do with my own hands, using organic tools. Being aware of the unstoppable growth of these virtual setups, I merged my physical explorations with digital media in a combination of mixed media, installation, video installation, and video. A way to fight back against the overflow of the heavy illusion of that polished reality.
Social media requirements are being represented in my practice by aesthetically attractive faces when seen from far. When closely looked at, these livid faces convey a disturbing feeling of loss of control and glitches, the cracks of the virtual world, and its illusion of perfection. Drained but this heavy illusion, most of the Human Faces had been dragged to narrow down to crust; expressions and facial muscles are fading away.
The more we realize we are stuck in this polished cracked reality, the more the struggle is to come out from this disrupted realm.”

www.talinebalian.com | @taline_balian

INTERVIEW

First of all, tell us about your background. When did you start getting involved with visual arts and how?

My interest in Arts started 25 years ago. I started to learn about the different art movements and practiced different techniques and media, and from there, I started to develop my own language that was more focused on portraits.

And what role does the artist have in society?

We live in a sped-up society, and we hardly have time to look around and observe what is happening around us. The Artist is usually the observer. He takes the time to look at "life" and offers to show the different aspects of our society by presenting thought-provoking works to trigger the viewer to think more about these aspects.

How would you define yourself as an artist and what is your personal aim?

I define myself as a multidisciplinary visual artist that experiments with social media. I am fascinated by how fast social media was embraced by our society, as it offered the possibility to become an ideal person in an ideal world, A heavy illusion of security and well-being.

Since portrait is a key element in my work, I started observing what is happening on the social media platforms and how faces are being presented and transformed in their obsessive aspiration to perfectness and constant effort to please and belong.
The overwhelming setup of that virtual world and our constant presence on social media platforms are gradually directing humans to a peak of collective blindness and a disruption in their relationship with the physical world. 

This is why I was led to hooking even more with the need to do as much as it could possibly be done with my own hands to fight back against the overflow of the heavy illusion of that polished reality, and attempt to keep a balance between the physical and the virtual world. 

As a multidisciplinary artist, what is your creative process like? Where do you draw inspiration from and how do you translate it into your work?

In my creative process, I do a lot of experimentations with different tools and materials; I allow myself to process my thoughts, my obsessions, my ideas. Then I allow myself to try out, interact with the material, thoughts, and techniques, and I always try to do as much as possible with my hands, even when working with video or digital tools.

Since the beginning of my career, I have been interested in social problems. In the past few years, social media has become a contemporary social problem, and I started observing what is happening around me in this area and playing around the idea of keeping a balance in the mergence of the physical and the virtual worlds.

We are gradually heading to be left with a minimum possibility to be socially present in the physical world and acquire a more 'Virtual Life'; a 'new normal standard' started to develop in the context of Social Media, expanding by that the algorithm pressure, with more expectations to our online presence. If we are not active enough online, the algorithm decides we are not interesting enough, therefore, won't grant us a proper online existence.
The exponential growth of the online requirements is leading us to suffocate from the oversaturated, embellished faces, the camouflaged beings, and their surroundings.

So I underwent a series of experiments where I played around faces, and I developed the concept of "Social Media Faces" that I represented in my work as emotionless, expressionless empty masks and looking alike faces in a series of mixed media, installations, videos and video installations works, where I used organic and physical elements to represent the virtual world. 

I focus on a very attractive perfect shiny polished visual, that the viewers can see when they are looking from far, but when they get closer to the work, it highlights all the cracks and glitches of the virtual world.

In your work you reflect on the impact that social media has on our world. What do you think is the role of art in addressing these themes?

Art's role is to highlight and magnify what is happening in the social media world today.
Through my work, I try to offer intense experiences that invite the audience to think about their practices on social media, and highlight the need to find the balance between the physical and virtual world.

How did you come up with this idea and how do you choose the mediums to use?   

Since my practice is focused on portraits and one of my major obsessions is social problems, and specifically social media, that became the contemporary social problem, I developed the concept of "Social Media Faces'. 

In my practice, I tackle different aspects of the faces in the social media world, and each aspect is represented in a different medium.
I used portraits without restricting myself to canvas; I experimented with the mixed media series, where I represented the mergence of both worlds, the physical and the virtual. I played with the organic and physical material to represent the illusion of a perfect shiny life in the midst of the cracked reality of the virtual world.

Then I got out of the canvas and explored installations that offered a more immersive experience. I wanted the viewer to be physically immersed in the idea of the virtual world, playing around the mergence of the physical and the virtual worlds.
Then I started working with video and video installations to show the deterioration of the "social media faces" and the over-saturation of faces on social media.

What was the most challenging part of your project?

Confronting the digital/virtual temptations was the biggest challenge!
I use physical/organic material and my own hands as a way to fight back and keep a physical aspect in my work, but I insist on merging both worlds, so I do use digital tools as well. 
We want to embrace the virtual world, but we need to keep our physical identity, especially when the digital world can offer easier solutions.

What do you hope that the public takes away from your work?

My work is an invitation to the public to rethink their relationship with the virtual world and the importance of creating a balance without being so lost in that heavy illusion.

What is your opinion of the growing importance that the digital world has on contemporary art? Did you take part in any online exhibition or experiment with NFTs?

The digital world has developed exponentially, and it is offering lots of advantages, such as exposure, accessibility, and a range of possibilities to present a work of art. 

It is as well offering the artists the challenge to push their practices, and it is opening lots of possibilities for contemporary artists to push their work in directions they might not have thought of.

I haven't yet experimented with NFTs, but I have participated in many online exhibitions; the latest was the World of co-artist residency Online exhibition, where I presented the experiments I underwent during my artist residency there.

And lastly, what are you working on right now and what are your plans for the future?

My current project is focused on the physical world. I am turning my back to the virtual world, and I am watching closely what is happening to the remains of the "social media faces", and the relation with these shadows, these ghosts in the real world.