Sarah Nicole Francois
Being from the golden era of Tumblr where being candid was the standard, digital artist Sarah Nicole François takes on a new chapter in our digital world. today, most of us try to put forward the best representations of their selfs, resulting in fake realities and emotional isolation. Sarah’s work serves as a parody, applying it to her own character and pushing forward the question whether she is real or not.
Can you tell us something about yourself?
I’m Sarah Nicole François, a digital artist and clothing designer that’s obsessed with merging digital spaces with reality. I love playing with the idea of reality, being a lot less concrete than we perceive it. I like to use digital art as a medium to blur the lines. With digital avatars and augmented reality, I can shape my own perception of myself and the world around me through my art and possibly other people’s perception as well. I like the power that comes with that.
Your Instagram bio reads ‘Maybe I am real, Maybe I’m not’. The question rises are you? How much of yourself is in this digital representation?
My overall goal is to blur the “IRL Sarah vs 3D Sarah” line on social media so distinctly it’s hard to tell what’s actually “me” and what’s digital. I’m not quite there yet. I’m probably at about 40/60%. I’m from the golden era of tumblr where being super candid and oversharing the good, bad and ugly with your followers was like a standard practice. Nowadays, I think social media is muddled with a lot of false realities of what people are like, look like and live like. I don’t think most people are intentionally being deceptive about their lives, I just think everyone is interested in putting the best representation of themselves forward. But in consequence of that, it creates this weird black mirror culture where nothing is really as it seems. So with my work I’m kind of trying to parody that in a sense by having what represents me be clearly unclear about what is “real” and what isn’t.
With a digital reality taking over ground, we are entering a duality in the way we live our lives. There are many mixed opinions on how we are becoming more isolated but on the other hand we have new ways to express ourselves. What is your take on this?
It’s definitely a balancing act that most of us haven’t quite figured out yet, well I know I haven’t. Being able to reach thousands of people at my finger tips but simultaneously spending my days isolated can be a bit disorientating. But on the other hand when I travel and meet people I’ve connected with online there’s this immediate kinship and understanding that comes from knowing each other through the Internet that I think is really unique to our time. Honestly, I feel like the Internet is still too new for us to fully understand how to navigate it in a healthy way, we’re all just trying to figure out what works best for us individually.
You worked with Pornhub on a project. Can you tell us something about this collaboration? What was the process and how did you get in touch with them?
That’s probably been my favorite project I’ve worked on so far, I was asked by Claire Barrow and Brooke Candy to work alongside them on that. Tapping into Brooke’s aesthetic and world is very fun. Her mind is wild and since I’m usually just working off my own ideas, being able to step outside myself and bring her ideas into fruition was really awesome. She doesn’t really have any limits it makes it all the more fun.
What do you think is the future of the adult industry?
I know that there are a lot of people and organizations that are working towards solidifying rights for sex workers and I think the industry should catch up and make basic rights for sex workers less of a “concept” and more of the standard it should be. That should come first, before any new sex technology, before any sex robot or artificial intelligence brothel. The sex industry is one of the most lucrative industries in our culture and the treatment of sex workers — from the cam girls to huge porn stars and everyone in between— should reflect that. That's the future of the sex industry to me.
courtesy SARAH NICOLE FRANCOIS
interview ANIEK STROEKEN
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