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What does the way we furnish our apartments, dress, or photograph ourselves on social media reveal about us? PhD student Kristina Zejkanová from the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (FDU UWB) explores how our identity manifests through the objects around us. In her work, she examines how items, clothing, and online presentation reveal who we are.

In her research, Kristina collaborates with the Faculty of Applied Sciences at UWB, where she uses artificial intelligence to analyze popular mirror selfies, searching for hidden patterns and similarities. She's interested in how Instagram changes our perception of privacy, as well as how people in senior homes arrange shelves with their personal belongings. She then transforms insights from her observations into artistic objects and installations.

Can you describe your project in one sentence?

My dissertation project examines the impact of sharing photos on the internet, specifically mirror selfies, on our identity and perception of privacy through how we dress and how we live.

Why do you work specifically with mirror selfies? What can be read from them?

Selfies are now a commonly used communication and self-presentation tool. Through photos in general (and today even more often videos) on the internet, we very quickly announce what, where, and how we're doing things. With selfies, the informational value is even stronger because it's a form of self-portrait that captures both the interior and personal objects within it, as well as clothing, which are the strongest physical means of our identity. We can read current trends in various areas from them, as well as people's relationship to private and public space. Interesting is the analysis of colors, poses, recurring patterns like covering faces with phones, photographing oneself indoors in outdoor outfits, deliberate casualness, placement of mirrors in interiors, and so on.

From the fact that women in selfies cover their faces, we can infer that we present our identity primarily through material things around us, whether it's an outfit or the interior where we're located. At the same time, it's also a form of control that can stem from shame, negative self-perception and the resulting need to mask one's own identity, or simply just a shallow desire to follow trends. Whatever reason stands behind each shot, undoubtedly covering faces in mirror selfies is a contemporary visual style and can strongly influence how we perceive ourselves and who we are.

How do people project their identity through home furnishings or clothing? Are there any objects/details you focus on?

Every object we own speaks in some way about our inner world. Who we are, what values we hold, and what we have experienced or are preparing to experience – all of this influences our choice of materials, style, shapes, function, and colors. Some things we own because they truly resonate with us inside, others we have just to fit into a certain environment. Objects that fascinate me and can reveal a lot about people are those we display on shelves or in display cases. They often hold an almost spiritual position and value in the interior, and their meaning can be profound for the user, or conversely, completely empty and soulless.

The boundaries between private and public are no longer firmly established. In photographs, one of the most frequently appearing objects was the bed or open wardrobes where we see their contents, which used to be completely personal elements in the household. This fact is amplified by the reality that nowadays it's completely normal to see women in underwear or completely naked in these interiors. The poses we strike in photographs are very often playful, with a touch of eroticism, or seemingly casual and random, often captured in the process of some activity, but from the context it's evident that these are often artificially constructed scenarios and positions.

How does loss of identity manifest specifically in fashion and interior design – have you observed any patterns of homogenization? And are social media really behind this process?

I'll start from the end. The photos we see on the internet are very similar to each other. Every generation had its zeitgeist, however today we consume enormous amounts of visual material that is influenced by algorithms. It's enough to look at one photo of a pink ruffled skirt and it starts flooding us with similar content, until we search for something different. I think it's easier today than ever before to let yourself be uniformized and influenced by what social media serve us. But it's definitely not the main catalyst. Economics, the state of industry and technology, market supply and similar factors also have a big influence. It's interesting that we increasingly see "home" sections in fashion chains, where it's evident that we're already buying an overall style, not individual items.

Regarding homogenization – from the images I'm scrolling through on platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, I observe that people aestheticize a lot, imitate, use the same color palettes most often in beige tones, outfit styles repeat and especially the way clothing is presented. Photo composition (which we can also understand as room layout and mirror placement) also repeats, as do materials, and specific interior elements like open wardrobes, green plants, picture compositions, beds, mirror frames, lighting...

What brought you to doctoral studies at Sutnar Faculty?

I studied both bachelor's and master's degrees at Sutnar Faculty and I was always satisfied with the school. When I was finishing, the doctoral program was just opening and I thought I'd give it a try, because I was always interested in the theoretical dimension during my studies.

The biggest "aha" moment or failure that moved you forward.

I don't recall any major moment, rather I received stimulating comments or questions from experts in various fields who opened up new directions for me in some way.

How could the output of your research change practice, the field, or society?

The design I create is very often on the edge of concept and is meant to tell a story or open up a topic. My goal is to practically present the phenomena I deal with and open discussion. Whether we then change our mindset is up to each of us. At the same time, I see potential for the data to be used by other fields such as sociology, psychology, or photography.

Do you have advice for younger colleagues who are just heading to entrance exams?

Have a certain theme in mind that you want to focus on, but always stay open to new stimuli and inspiration.

Doctoral studies at the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen can be pursued in the program Interdisciplinary Interdisciplinary Research Through Visual Arts. The three-year full-time doctoral program offers a unique combination of artistic creation and scientific research. The program is designed both for artists who want to reflect more deeply on their work and for researchers who verify their research through their own creation. The program responds to the rapid development of visual culture and communication in contemporary society, where creativity plays an increasingly important role. The program is based on the premise that visual artistic creation has a fundamental practical role in how society knows and understands the world around it. Visual art helps shape the tools through which we discover reality or construct it.