So the transfer between offline life and online life hasn’t always been graceful. Before Myspace or Facebook, the average person didn’t have too many reasons to take photos of themselves. It’s not that no one was interested in your new outfit, haircut, or boring day alone with a webcam. It’s just that no one had a reason or way to see them. The dawn of digital profiles and easy to access social networks changed all that. Now it’s all about pictures and documenting every bit of minutiae in our lives.

 

 

 

Some see it as narcissistic. Others see it as a new way of sharing. Mathieu Grac proves that we certainly look silly while doing it. We’ve all seen friends post pictures of themselves alone in their rooms, in ways they think look cool and sexy. Now and then they really do look great, but most times they seem out of place and silly. Let’s face it, setting is a big deal, and humor in setting is what Grac explores. He captures each of his subjects in typical profile picture settings--that is, alone in their rooms, striking all too dramatic poses.

 

 

 

Each photo is undeniably funny and weird, not just on their own, but because almost everyone at one point has done what Grac subjects do. Perhaps Grac created this set as a commentary about the growing sense of vanity in our culture. Maybe he simply wanted to display an aspect of human nature in a humorous way--after all, narcissism and self-love go way back. Maybe it’s both. What’s clear, though, is that his photography is a really cool look behind the average camera and something that makes people aware of how they look when they’re behind their own lens--for better or worse.

A sample of Mathieu Grac’s set is below, but more can be found here.