Mati Granica

hyperREALITY


hyperREALITY is a photographic project exploring falsity and constructiveness of editorial photography. Based off a brief tackling the concept of ‘photography as theatre’, I created a visual essay that broke down the process of creating an editorial image. Publications often promote candidness and authenticity, yet have extensive construction processes behind published photographs. These images create unrealistic representations of people and can develop unrealistic standards of beauty, resulting in catastrophic impacts on mental health across a huge portion of society. Quotations from Jean Baudrillard reinforce the danger of representations like these while being positioned next to them, creating a sense of irony. hyperREALITY exposes these representations by creating a heavily doctored front cover, using various FaceTuning software, intentionally inaccurate editing and a stock image background. The intention of the cover is to create an uncanny and jarring simulacrum. The next part of the project is an exposé - tearing apart the cover and shattering the false reality. It exposes the production processes and crews needed to create an image like this. The end of the narrative exposes my own position as the photographer and creator, constructing the entire piece, referencing Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez. The overall message of the piece is exposing. Exposing every step, even exposing my process of creating the project. My intention is to encourage people to question what they’re seeing and to remember that, even if something seems authentic and genuine, it likely isn’t.