« Mankind, which in Homer’s time was an object of contemplation for the Olympian gods, is now one for itself. Its self-alienation has reached such a degree that it can experience its own destruction as aesthetic pleasure of the first order. » 

Walter Banjamin, The work of art in the age of of its mechanical reproducibility (1935)

So ‘tech-neck’ is a thing.

A ‘serious concern’ according to many beauty magazines. I laughed when I first heard the term describing the laxity of skin and wrinkles caused in the neck from constantly looking down at our phones. Vanity aside I cannot help but acknowledge that this is truly a fascinating indication of our current culture.

Technology and our digital obsessions are literally changing the way we wrinkle up! Look in the mirror! It’s a thing. And a true testament to how ‘sucked in’ we are by our smartphones. Antoine Geiger’s collection titled “Sur-fake,” so aptly depicts the nature of the modern digital era. 

We are in a full on digital suck. It is both startling and sad yet undeniably our new reality.

This collection highlights the isolation stemming from our obsession with technology; with ‘staying connected’. It eerily captures this modern day addiction. 

But whom are we really connecting with? 

We live in a world of invisible eyes staring at us through computer screens. A world where staring at the tops of people’s heads while sitting in a restaurant, on a train or walking down the street is the new normal.

When was the last time you locked eyes with a stranger?

The power that artists hold in bringing to light contemporary issues such as ‘digital suck’ is magnanimous. Sure I started putting a little extra cream on my neck after diagnosing my ‘tech neck’. But admittedly I kept looking down at my smartphone. It was Geiger’s alarming and awesome artwork that truly shifted my perspective and has me mindfully paying less attention to my iphone.

They say there is no real treatment for ‘tech neck’. Fortunately we have brilliant artists who can creatively confront us with our afflictions, making us more mindful while perhaps preserving our skin elasticity in the process.