Like Me Forward

‘Like Me Forward’ collapses the boundary between virtual abstraction and corporeal existence. It offers a potent metaphor for the ways social media colonizes not only our self-image but also our somatic freedom.

In this quietly radical durational work, the artist constructs a starkly literal relationship between human locomotion and digital validation. An Instagram account is created; for every "like" received, the artist permits themselves to take a single step forward in real life.

What at first might read as a conceptual provocation quickly reveals itself as a profound meditation on contemporary subjectivity. In a culture increasingly governed by algorithmic affirmation, each bodily movement becomes contingent on external approval — the artist's most intimate gestures outsourced to an invisible, indifferent audience.

The durational nature of the piece underscores the slow violence of this dependency: every step is at once a celebration of connection and an indictment of self-surveillance. We are reminded that in this digital agora, progress — whether artistic, personal, or social — is shackled to the fickle currency of "likes," rendering the body a hostage to its own projection.

At its core, the work is less about movement than about the paralyzing quietude that arises when life itself is curated through the eyes of the other. The artist becomes a living monument to our collective desire for visibility, poignantly revealing the psychological constraints we willingly impose in our search for approval.

Through this simple yet devastatingly effective mechanism, the artist exposes the latent dystopia embedded within our daily scroll — a mirror held up to the pixelated abyss into which we continually step.

The piece served as a conceptual exploration of the psychological and behavioral impacts of social media on individual autonomy. The project invited viewers to reflect on their own relationships with technology and to question the extent to which personal freedom and genuine experiences have become commodified through digital platforms.

The piece has been discussed in contemporary art contexts as a commentary on the commodification of identity and the “real” consequences of living in a like-driven culture. It has been recognized for its minimalist yet impactful approach to illustrating the intersection between physical reality and virtual life.