Amy Davis

Artist and Educator 

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E: amydavisphotography@gmail.com

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My artistic practice centers on an exploration of identity in the age of social media, using photography, video, and multimedia installations as my primary mediums. I am fascinated by how the camera and social media enable us to invent and project idealized versions of ourselves to an ever-widening audience, constructing self-curated narratives that have been a part of photography's history since its inception.

My previous works have focused on the ways in which we construct and curate our identities online. By examining the voyeuristic nature of social media and the desire to be seen and to see others, I have sought to expose the complexities of this new form of self-expression in a digital world.

My latest project, "Inference," is an interactive installation that delves deeper into our fascination with peeking into the lives of others and the impressions we form of their personal identities based on their photographic images. The installation features 6x6 foot photo mosaics, which are composed of the entirety of a subject's images and text messages stored on their phone. The viewer can zoom into each image or read each text message, creating a modern-day equivalent of peeking through a person's diary. This project encourages reflection on the ways in which we form judgments and make assumptions based on the visual information we consume online.

My current photo and video project, "Assimilation," is a deeply personal investigation into the dual nature of identity, particularly as experienced by immigrants who have relocated to the United States. Through my relationship with my husband, I have been inspired to explore the complex struggles that immigrants face as they shift their cultural identities to adopt the American lifestyle, while also grappling with the guilt of creating new traditions that blend aspects of their native cultures with those of their adopted homeland. My aim is to use the power of photography and video to shed light on the shifting landscapes of cultural identity and tradition in contemporary society, with a particular focus on immigrants who have married outside of their own culture. By exploring these themes, I hope to ignite a broader conversation about the complexities of identity and cultural assimilation in the modern world.