Independent Art Curator and Creative Producer
Sonya Russell-Saunders
Filter Bubble
“We are all just actors trying to control and manage our public image; we act based on
how others might see us.” Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
Filter Bubble is a distributed digital art exhibition that explores how identity is performed and shaped within algorithmically curated digital environments. Drawing on Erving Goffman’s theory of the performed self, the project investigates how social media platforms influence not only what we see but how we choose to be seen.
In spaces like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, users navigate fragmented and often invisible audiences, tailoring their self-presentation to meet the expectations of both followers and platform algorithms. These systems reward visibility, conformity, and engagement, creating feedback loops that reinforce certain behaviours and aesthetics while suppressing others.
The exhibition revisits Eli Pariser’s concept of the filter bubble, now in the context of shifting platform policies and moderation practices. Algorithms increasingly isolate users from diverse viewpoints, shaping perception and limiting discourse. This has profound implications for identity, agency, and the construction of self in digital life.
Featuring artists who critically engage with social media as both medium and subject, Filter Bubble transforms everyday platforms into performative spaces. These artists explore how digital personas are crafted, curated, and consumed, revealing the hidden architectures that shape our online lives. The exhibition design may mimic the structure of a murmuration, a fluid and networked system of interaction and data flow, reflecting the collective choreography of social media behaviour.
Showcasing the work of 7 artists, distributed across Instagram, Snap Chat, Tiktok, YouTube and Websites.
How to navigate the exhibition: Below is the 'central hub' for the show, click on the links to see the artists work featured in this distributed show. You will need an account for each platform.
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