"Soul-Stealing" Photos Visualize the Dependence We Have to Our Phones

Our eyes are all-too-often glued to our phones and we miss what's going on in the world around us. The alluring and tempting images light up the screen, grabbing hold of our gaze as we're powerless to look away. French photographer Antoine Geiger has visualized this parasitic relationship in his series called SUR-FAKE. In each of his compelling compositions, a phone and face are fused into one, as its user is absorbed into the illuminated device.

Geiger views the phone as an object that alienates our connection to the physical world. By paying attention to it, we miss spontaneous interactions with others and the beauty of the everyday. Although his photographic manipulations are alarming and, at times, grotesque, they act as a powerful reminder to put our phones away–they can't compete with what's going on around us.

Antoine Geiger: Website
via [Laughing Squid]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met and Manager of My Modern Met Store. She is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art where she earned her BFA in Illustration and MFA in Illustration Practice. Sara is also an embroidery illustrator and writer living in Seattle, Washington. She runs Bear&Bean, a studio where she stitches pet portraits and other beloved creatures. She chronicles the creativity of others through her website Brown Paper Bag and newsletter, Orts. Her latest book is Threads of Treasure: How to Make, Mend, and Find Meaning Through Thread, published in 2014. Sara’s work has been recognized in Be Creative With Workbox, Embroidery Magazine, American Illustration, on Iron and Wine’s album Beast Epic, among others. When she’s not stitching or writing, Sara enjoys planning things that bring together the craft community. She is the co-founder of Camp Craftaway, a day camp for crafty adults with hands-on workshops in the Seattle area.
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