PINS’ use of selfies might be highlighting current phone culture, but it’s not new: An exhibition starting at the Saatchi Gallery this month is exploring the selfie in art – from Van Gogh and Rembrandt to Kim Kardashian.
"From Selfie to Self Expression", is, according to Nigel Hurst, CEO of the Chelsea Gallery, “a compelling insight into the history and creative potential of the selfie”, and you’re even invited to contribute your own #SaatchiSelfie.
So if selfies are such a massive part of art history, why is there such a fuss now? Pressed chatted to Christopher Kul-Want, a lecturer in Art Theory and Philosophy at Central Saint Martins. He said, “There is a much stronger sense of our own image today, through the media, advertising, commercialism and the internet, and that means there are different meanings to the self than in the times of Van Gogh.”
Ah – the media. Still, we can’t help imagining that Van Gogh probably would have loved the Instagram Valencia filter.
"From Selfie to Self-Expression" is open at the Saatchi Gallery from 31 March - 30 May.
By Rosie Stopher

People taking a selfie (Source: Max Pixel)
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