Miss Metaverse #97.17

"Miss Metaverse" critiques how artists navigate self-representation in the Web3 space, using a beauty pageant framework to explore the distortion of identity. The work highlights the pressures artists face to market themselves based on social and commercial skills rather than the intrinsic quality of their work, particularly in an online environment where visibility equates to career success.

Through an interactive experience activated by the user’s webcam, "Miss Metaverse" distorts the viewer's image, symbolizing the compression of identity into easily digestible formats for public and algorithmic consumption. Emojis are used to soften value statements, yet they emphasize the superficiality of self-presentation in the digital age.

The final minted artwork replaces the collector’s image with AI-generated beauty pageant contestants, commenting on the commodification of self-image. Viewers can toggle between their distorted self and these contestants, illustrating how easily individuality can be lost in the spectacle of online self-promotion.

The work's points system, mimicking beauty contest rankings, determines the "winner" among collectors, reflecting the competitive nature of digital identity construction. "Miss Metaverse" extends Wiederrecht and Caballero’s exploration of the tension between selfhood and self-image, encouraging reflection on the contradictions of the digital art market.