Invisible Filter
Ethel Lilienfeld explores the growing impact of the virtual body on real life. On social media, we express our self-image, which evolves into an avatar—an enhanced doppelgänger using filters.
In this video installation, we see two women of different ages, who resemble each other, standing opposite one another. The tears of the younger woman are collected in a basin and subsequently serve as a beauty elixir for the older woman. Lilienfeld illustrates the tension between desolation and reconciliation in our self-image, referencing how AI-driven algorithms on social media influence norms surrounding age and beauty.
Lilienfeld was inspired by the story of Qiao Biluo: the popular Chinese streamer was revealed during a technical glitch to actually be a 58-year-old woman using a face filter.
