Insta Inspired

I am not the most social-media-inclined person. I left Facebook eight years ago. I'm neither popular on, nor a huge fan of using the various platforms in my free time. Though I see its value for work purposes, I approach with caution, ever mindful of its impact on mental health and wellbeing (*see Tech Free Week, for further thoughts on this).

Recently however, I have felt drawn to invest more time in Instagram’s community. I work in a visual field, and love the potential of using Instagram as a tool - similarly to how I approach Pinterest. One with which, on any given day, I can shake up my train of thought, challenge my views and push my artistic boundaries.
I love the inspiration of seeing things in a new light, perspective, and angle. I approach who I follow with this in mind.

Within my own tribe of creators I am intrigued by the posts of artists like Taylor Hastings (@taylorhastingsactor), who keeps a very honest, intimate account of her life on instagram. There’s a bravery there that I admire. I also delight in the photography of William Minsky (@minskyphoto) and Devin Karringten (@devinkfilm), both of whom are brilliant behind a camera and have invested time in my technical education in real life, (for which I am grateful).

I do enjoy updating my community on wins and supporting/celebrating success (particularly with M). Acquiring social validation is frankly of little interest to me though. If I am motivated to create art for ‘likes’ and approval, I fear I have fallen off course.

It's important to me that I don't force myself to ‘like’ or comment either. It feels counterintuitive to the more private way in which I live and work. I am aghast that there are actual bots people purchase to go around liking posts and collecting followers (*see ‘Black Mirror’s,' Nosedive for a frightening take on where this could lead us).

Here are a few of the accounts I follow to see things in a new way:

Writing

Rupi Kaur - @rupikaur_

Nikita Gill - @nikita_gill

Illustration

Henn Kim - @henn_kim

Christoph Niemann - @abstractsunday
*Featured in, 'Abstract: The Art of Design' on Netflix

Cinematography

Rachel Morrison - @rmorrison
*first female cinematographer to be nominated for an oscar

Roger Deakins - @rogerdeakins

I hope these prove inspiring to you or at the very least contribute positively to your feed. If not, disregard and move on. Life is far too short to waste time being uninspired.

- J

*J, I like to follow @sarahandersencomics & @theawkwardyeti to lighten my feed. - M