@obby1000 + @piagraf__

Pia and Obby have both started using Instagram two years ago. As students, they wanted to collaborate with other artists on this social media, create a sense of community. They also seeked to gather all of the artistic work that had so far produced, and to “show them to the world,” to get recognition for them.

Pia and Obby make a personal use of Instagram because they three different accounts that they manage with some friends, and all collaborate. This enables them to showcase unique and qualitative pieces. The fact that they are so involved in collaborative work also requires them to do a lot of planning and to carefully think about what they are going to produce.

Pia and Obby insist that they only see Instagram as a tool to get real-life opportunity to develop their artistic skills and creativity.

They do not think that Instagram is restrictive, but actually also use other types of platforms. They see Instagram as being one tool among others. However, they underline that Instagram can become a trap when one focuses to much on getting recognition, a certain amount of followers… some people get addicted to Instagram, and Instagram can lead artists to really doubt their own work and value, which might hinder their artistic creation. Finally, they note that Instagram has been a great tool for them to use as it is free and can enable the democratization of design, which is the artistic sector they have specialized in. They even acquired a job in the design field thanks to the recognition that they got on Instagram.

Instagram, according to them, is very personal and enable to expose one’s artistic vision as a whole : in addition to their work, artists can post about their creative process, work that inspire them, their own personal reflections. They however compare it to another platform, Behance, on which users can publish very long texts and more theory, going deeper than on Instagram.