Lori Remmel is a contemporary artist, living and working in rural Pennsylvania, United States. ScreenTime ScreamTime investigates the siren song of social media on our lives as it relates to connection. To create the series, I transferred screenshots that I had on my phone into wooden panels, which were then embellished tediously with beads and sequins, an analog representation of the pixels we see when we engage with our phones. The act of bead application reflected the time wasted on screens and fake connection. I wanted to make images that were meant for transience, permanent. I wanted these phone cases to read like they were melty and hand-crafted with love and evidence of handheld toil so often they are.
My concept was turned and flipped in March when global pandemic forced us to be inside and alone. My phone screen became my connection to the outside world. It became my comfort when I couldn’t sleep, my way to access supplies and groceries, my entertainment, and my news source. I leaned in to the misery and smallness of life in quarantine. I began to crave the safety in the repetition of art action and the comfort in knowing I would always have another bead to apply.
My art action culminated with my life action when I deleted Facebook, Snapchat, and friends on IG as part of my straightened trajectory and quest for full authenticity and satisfying connection.