If you’re anything like me, your Instagram algorithm feels like an extension of your own brain sometimes. You find yourself questioning… ‘Did I search that?’ No, I’m sure I just thought about it’… ‘How does this thing know what’s inside my head?!’
From those tasty (almost) healthy recipes that you save (but never get round to making) to the super easy IKEA Hacks that you can totally do yourself (just as soon as you get time)… the scrolling, whilst so often mindless, doesn’t always feel that way. So much of this is quality stuff you want in your life, just as soon as you have the time, money, inclination and will to make it happen.
Interiors fill more than half of my feed at the moment. Not that an Insta-worthy living room is even close to within my reach, with three mini Slinky girls ready to smear nutella on anything white that dares enter their zone…
But the thing that troubles me most, about the perfectly panelled, plumped and polished homes that we’re supposed to aspire to right now? Barely a portrait in sight.
I commented to a friend last week that this is perhaps the first time in history that the ‘influencers’ of our time are not displaying their loved ones proudly in their homes… and in favour of what? Generic, mass produced ‘artwork’ or worse still – nothing at all. I swipe past reel after reel, set to melancholic music with hauntingly emotive videos and can’t help but wonder. What emotions are these people feeling whilst relaxing in their own homes, staring straight at the Egyptian Cotton Walls and Elephant’s Breath Ceiling? Scientific studies have proven that children who grow up in a house with family photographs displayed, grow up more confident and with higher self esteem! (Any of you that have met the Slinky girls can only imagine then, how many photos they see daily!)
Royalty and Society, influencers of their time… have always put great value on commemorating and celebrating their loved ones with heirloom portraits, that form a family’s legacy. A stroll through any stately home is testament to the importance of displaying portraits on your walls. I myself, adore going back in time, whilst flicking through the boxes of old black and white prints that belong to my mum. It is frightening to think that the only photographs our children’s generation will have, everybody has digital dog ears, little hearts floating round their heads… or even, none at all.
Answer honestly. Can you say for sure that all of your favourite photographs are safe? Digital media degrades over time. Phones are lost, cloud storage companies go bust and online accounts are hacked and deleted.
Please prioritise preserving the faces of those you love, in printed form? I promise, that stunning family portait in your lounge will make you smile every single time you pass by it. The framed prints of the children on the kitchen windowsill will ensure they feel loved and appreciated. The album on your dining room console table will be leafed through wistfully more times than you can count.
Forget short-lived trends. Portraits are always the most precious investment you can make.
