The face is a means of communication, expression and depiction. It has always been used for our own representation, as we believe that it can describe a person best. However, this is not true. Representation is not all-encompassing and it has blind spots, so it cannot represent and depict a person wholly. Today, methods of representation and reasons for (self)depiction have changed. (Self)portraits, once used to conserve a person in a physical object, are now replaced with selfies, primarily used as evidence of life and a means of communication. The role of facial depiction was once dependent upon the face, while facial depiction today is free from this dependency, which does not, however, mean it is free from all (such dependencies). It is caught in a continuous cycle of self-inventing, following micro-trends of facial representation, just so it stays relevant and worthy of the gaze of the Other.
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