Digital Metamorphosis

Digital Metamorphosis examines the lasting effects of digital spaces, and the interactions within them, on shaping individual identity, particularly through visibility and objectification online. Using data from unsolicited messages in my Instagram archive, the project recontextualizes invasive, fetishizing, and seemingly complimentary messages into a series of 3D characters. Each figure reflects a specific theme: (Un)Natural Beauty, Masochism, and Maternity.

This work critically explores the absurdity, latent violence, and complexities of digitally mediated femininity. By transforming dehumanizing or hyperpersonal exchanges into visual avatars, the project frames digital harassment as generative phenomena that reshape perception, self-presentation, and embodiment. These surreal, hyperbolic avatars exist between symbolic extremity and instability—functioning as both sculptures and interfaces.

This work was presented in an interactive virtual exhibition.

Role

3D Designer, Conceptual Artist

Tools

Blender, ZBrush, Adobe Photoshop

Focus Areas

Critical Design, 3D Sculpting, Interaction Design, Feminist Media Theory

Early Prototype Models

Purpose

The principal aim of Digital Metamorphosis was to undertake a critical examination of the aesthetic and psychological ramifications of unsolicited digital communication, particularly as they pertain to the construction of identity within the framework of virtual publics. By systematically excavating personal data archives to extract authentic direct messages, the project employs methodologies rooted in archival realism and digital ethnography. These approaches function to materialize—both tangibly and affectively—the processes of online objectification. Rather than abstracting or diminishing these interactions, the project deliberately amplifies their significance through grotesque or highly stylized figuration, thereby foregrounding the sociocultural and emotional violences they enact.

Thematically, this inquiry engages with feminist media theory, the performativity of digital identities, and the concept of posthuman embodiment to critically interrogate the mechanisms through which digital platforms, such as Instagram, operate as apparatuses of gendered surveillance and projection. The characters developed within this framework serve as para-social provocations, simultaneously existing as aesthetic constructs and critical agents. Their duality invites viewers to engage in reflexive contemplation regarding their own complicity, the operations of the gaze, and the ethical dimensions of digital citizenship.

Execution

The project was developed utilizing Blender and ZBrush as primary tools for 3D character modeling, sculpting, rigging, and scene construction, wherein each figure was meticulously crafted to embody a distinct thematic distortion of femininity or the human form, contingent upon the categorical framework of underlying message clusters. Rigorous analytical focus was directed toward the interplay of materiality, the psychological implications of color theory, and the deliberate exaggeration of anatomical features to evoke a spectrum of affective responses—ranging from discomfort and desire to absurdity—aligned with the narrative intent ascribed to each figure.

The metamorphic transformations of each character were systematically curated and graphically articulated within rendered scenes through the combined use of Figma and Photoshop, ensuring adherence to platform-specific visual conventions while simultaneously disrupting normative aesthetic flows. The orchestration of lighting, shadow dynamics, and atmospheric conditions was executed with precision to correspond to the affective tonalities inherent in the thematic message clusters, which spanned from clinical sterility to hypersexual surrealism.

The culmination of this work was presented within a virtual reality-enabled gallery space constructed in Unity, enabling viewers to navigate the exhibition and engage with each avatar at a one-to-one scale. This spatial embodiment was deliberately designed to heighten the immediacy of interaction, transforming otherwise observational digital encounters into immersive, confrontational experiences. By integrating principles of spatial computing and narrative environmental design, the project reconceptualizes the virtual gallery not merely as a platform for visual display but as a medium for embodied critique. Through this framework, the gallery space amplified the affective dimensions of the work, foregrounding the phenomenological interplay between viewer, space, and artifact to interrogate the epistemological boundaries of digital embodiment.

Process

Research & Conceptual Framing:

The project began with an in-depth investigation into digital identity, parasocial interaction, and platform-mediated objectification, drawing on feminist media theory, surveillance studies, and internet ethnography. Using Meta’s data download tool, I accessed and analyzed my personal Instagram data archive, focusing on the Message Requests category. These messages were treated not as isolated exchanges but as sociotechnical artifacts, reflecting the algorithmic, affective, and gendered dynamics shaping visibility in digital spaces. Through qualitative coding, a thematic schema emerged, organizing the messages into three key archetypes—(Un)Natural Beauty, Masochism, and Maternity. These archetypes inspired the creation of three distinct characters, each embodying recurring digital personas shaped by unsolicited attention and commentary. These personas serve as focal points for exploring the intersections of surveillance, performance, and digital objectification.

Narrative Mapping and Thematic Modeling:

The thematic archetypes were translated into character designs using visual metaphors, anatomical exaggeration, and symbolic stylization. Guided by speculative design principles, character briefs were based on linguistic patterns and implicit demands found in analyzed messages. Each character was conceived as more than an individual figure, serving as a critical element in discussions on digital citizenship, platform performance, and gendered labor in online visibility. This iterative process used speculative narratives to develop characters as both aesthetic and philosophical constructs.

3D Modeling and Visual Design:

The visual articulation of each character was executed through digital sculpting in Blender, employing hyperrealistic yet stylized proportions that deliberately evoke the aesthetic interplay between video game avatars and surreal digital sculptures. Material selection was informed by an intention to invoke emotional and symbolic resonance, utilizing glossy plastics, iridescent surfaces, and rubber-like textures to mirror the fetishized and artificial nature of hyper-visibility in virtual spaces. Lighting design, color grading, and the deliberate manipulation of posture were utilized to place each model within the uncanny valley, generating an intentional dissonance between familiarity and discomfort that compels critical viewer engagement.

Interface Design and Text Integration:

The integration of authentic messages into the final compositions was achieved through the construction of UI-mimetic overlays. These overlays were designed in Figma and Photoshop to replicate the Instagram messaging interface with meticulous precision. The spatial positioning of textual elements within the composition was strategically calibrated to amplify thematic tension, with some configurations creating visual congestion or noise to enhance the affective disquiet. The purposeful juxtaposition of platform-native UI elements with the sculptural characters underscores the collapsing boundaries between interface and identity, foregrounding the directed, personal, and affective nature of these digital interactions.

Immersive Exhibition Design:

The culmination of the project materialized in an immersive virtual gallery space constructed in Unity, designed to offer viewers an encounter with the figures at an augmented scale (as well as to be exhibited alongside other selected works). The spatial and navigational configurations were meticulously calibrated to evoke an interplay between intimacy and surveillance, prompting critical reflection on the viewer’s own positionality as a consumer of digital personas. The exhibition's architectural layout segmented the space into thematic vignettes, each room functioning as a psychological tableau. Dynamic lighting design and shader effects were integrated to ensure that the environmental elements responded subtly to the viewer’s movements, thereby emphasizing the ambient, lingering affectivity of digital interactions.