Poor Images

I spend most o my time on tutorial sites and picking apart code. This was my reading list last week.

My Amazon suggested purchases. There’s something funny about these small kitschy items compared to the expensive graphics card.

My rat persona made with the amazing Algorat Rat Maker.

pictures I didn’t take

The readings about poor images reminded me of a project by Matthias Brown (@traceloops on Instagram), in which he finds photos (of people he does not know) that all have the same generic filename, and then paints them, transforming them from forgotten digital artifacts to permanent, deliberate works of art.

link to the post

I realized I could do a similar thing for myself via my iMessages archive.

Even after new phones/computers over the years, I still have this iMessage archive going back to 2013…or maybe earlier. It looks like this – just hundreds of cryptically-named folders, each with a cryptically-named subfolder within it…each filled with forgotten images, screenshots, etc. from old text conversations.
my imessage archive of poor images

These are the photos no one ever saved. Each of the subfolders seems to be labeled with a number between 0 and 13. I chose to look at all the folders labeled “9.” (I’m choosing 9 randomly).

In these folders, there’s absolutely no organization whatsoever. a photo from 2014 will be next to a photo from 2020. All from different times of day. There’s no context besides the date and time, and no way to know who I was talking to, or whether this is a photo I sent or received.

I think this is so awesome. 

Usually, when I go through my camera roll, filled with photos I’ve deliberately taken and saved, I can pick out a random one and after a couple seconds of thinking, say “ah yes” and remember what that picture was about.

The photos in the messages archive, however, precisely fit my understanding of “poor images.” They were never saved to a camera roll; they are forgotten images. Now devoid of context, their stories are a complete mystery. Did I send this? Did I receive this? What was the conversation we were having around this picture? They are silly, scary, dark, intimate. Some bring back memories of my sort of “past-selves” – an ex’s kitchen; the bathroom in a place I used to live.

I am so obsessed with these, and I spent WAY too many hours digging through this archive…I would love to continue this project in some way. For now, here is a small collection of photos I didn’t take. Some of the scenes are more familiar than others; but what stands out is I was not the photographer – yet I am somehow the owner. This is a crazy thing to think about – what are the ethics around this in the digital age?!

 

you may have to zoom in to read the captions – scroll through one by one 🙂

Poor Images Olivia Cunnally

 

Picture of me from objects on my computer  (portrait comprised of files from downloads, google drive, pictures, desktop and bookmarks)

 

Pictures Throughout Time of Genuine Joy: (pictures of me from my computer experiencing genuine happiness)

 

Picture of Me From My First Google Image Results: (my most common profile pictures and a real old video I made for a college scholarship)