FUTURISTIC TASTEMAKER CONNOISSEUR

FUTURISTIC TASTEMAKER CONNOISSEUR (2022)
by Aluta Null
Shown in the 9 Colours online exhibition, on Artpool.com

FUTURISTIC TASTEMAKER CONNOISSEUR is a video art piece, paired with an interactive web page, featured in the 9 Colours online group exhibition curated by Carly Whitaker. Hosted on Artpool, the exhibition highlighted South African artists’ interpretations of color while responding to the concept of experimenting with social media behaviours. My work is presented through a nostalgic Tumblr blog, named FUTURISTIC TASTEMAKER CONNOISSEUR (a nod to AI-generated username conventions). It delves into a nuanced aspect of Digital Blackface.

This piece shines a light on the appropriation of Black vernacular and inside jokes by white social media users, particularly those originating from Black women and queer communities. FUTURISTIC TASTEMAKER CONNOISSEUR both critiques and celebrates social media behaviors and meme culture’s participatory nature. In the foreground of the video, a Microsoft Paint window showing the construction of Black woman's face on a white man's face can be seen, along with discreet blog posts being shared to a different blog running alongside but separate to the main blog.

Paying homage to The Read podcast, FUTURISTIC TASTEMAKER CONNOISSEUR incorporates excerpts from the show's sharp, unapologetic commentary. It blends reaction GIFs and memes crafted from out-of-context The Read quotes and white reality TV snippets, creating a series of disorienting Tumblr posts that reflect the confusing, distorted nature of Digital Blackface.

To view an online tour of the 9 Colours group show, follow this link: https://blog.artcuratorgrid.com/online-tour-9-colours-digital-exhibition/