I don’t know if it’s a product of ageing or the fact that the entire online sphere now feels like a dystopic corporate-funded nightmare, but some days I miss the early 2000’s internet more than I can verbalize. The internet sort of came of age around the same time I did. We got access where I lived when I was about 13 and could only connect to other schoolboards semi-internally. I was hooked- even then. As a small town kid who didn’t fit in with her peers at all there was immense comfort in connecting with strangers who felt the same online. Building communities and sharing my art (even if folks were sure I was a dude from my drawings lol).
For all it’s toxicity (eg YTMND and all that intense racism) back then it felt less controlled by corporations. Being seen online and having your art found was vastly easier, you weren’t collared by algorithms or weird rules on social media platforms the same way. I miss early Ebay communities (where I started Gloomth in 2006/7). I miss being able to share articles news in Canada. And so much more.
Recently I did this shoot with Azura Rose where I leaned hard into that early 2000s techno-optimism aesthetic. Crisp and shimmery, soaked through with blue and silver- the internet was supposed to create a whole new world of possibility! Instead it’s become a place where teens police strangers’ word uses and bodies like they’re paid to, as foreign countries seed dissent and division with fake profiles, all while Arby’s tries to sell you a fucking sandwich on the next slide….lol
Azura is wearing our “Black Licorice” dress layered over cyber printed leggings/top! This look is so slick and so easy to recreate!
I got to play with some (albeit kind of filthy) glass panes and I can’t wait to do more of that in future shoots! I love the way the neon signs and advertisements reflect as blurry distorted colors across the glass. Anyone wanna buy me some plexiglass? As a treat? š We explored some different backdrops downtown as well as a giant claw-machine arcade briefly.
This shoot didn’t fix my disillusionment but it did remind what has always guided me online and in my life- art. Creating things is why I’m alive, frankly. It’s what propels me every single day. I don’t believe we can fix the internet (not without platforms becoming a paid service, which no one wants) or turn it back to what it was, but we can focus on what creates joy and community in our lives (and ease the fuck up on one another online).
You can check out the entire shoot on our flickr!
Here’s a fun tiktok we shot during our time out:
-Taeden
Gloomth & the Cult of Melancholy 