Pretty Polaroids, Sunflowers, Handwritten letters, scented candles and cute cafes.
If you're an Instagram user or go through the Gen Z Pinterest alley often, every other picture that qualifies as "Aesthetic" contains either of these.
I have been critical of the whole "aesthetic curation" culture and I felt it makes things lose their essence.
I cannot explain the number of times I've asked why someone had Starry Night as their phone cover only to receive an "I just find this cute".
Maybe chopping an ear off isn't so bad of an Idea after all.
But the more I think about it, I realise as much as the social self, and the authentic self exist, there's also an "Aesthetic Self' that needs consideration.
David Hume(1711-1776) considered aesthetic pleasure as an instinctive and natural human response. (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume-aesthetics/)
Yes, there is a social signalling aspect to it, but beyond that, there is also an internal identity shift that is craved- achieved through doing things that go against the perceived dominant paradigm.
I feel the core aesthetic sentiment for the GenZ aesthetic, is nostalgia. Stemming not from a real memory- but the cultural recall of an era beyond one's reach, of a simpler time that was never lived.
In an era of highly lab-tested supplements, the paleo diet emerges.
In an era of super-specific training regimens, fitness influencers become idols by swinging a Mudgar and reading Geeta at the end of their day.
In an era of filters, and 8000-megapixel selfie cameras, polaroid cameras with hazy images suggest novelty.
In an era of heavy post-production mixing based music, lo-fi music recorded in bedrooms supports people while they code, write, and try to sleep. Lidia Zuin in her blog mentions it as a symptom of late Capitalism, a very interesting point of view indeed. (https://lidiazuin.medium.com/lo-fi-hip-hop-and-pov-playlists-are-symptoms-of-late-capitalism-3dddb5f6fb5a)
While Millenials were accused of losing culture- Gen Z started lighting Diyas and scented candles akile.
Yes, there's always a cycle of cultures and counter-cultures- yet, there's more to it still.
There is a want to connect to the rest of the generations while being in a world that was unimaginable 100 years ago- unless witchcraft and unicorns were real.
There is a want to create space for oneself in a world that allows you none of it, create time for oneself in a world that discourages slowing down.
The scented candles often go unused, the Polaroid refills are too expensive, and reading up on Gogh takes time.
Curation is the only solace, the surface of things beyond reach, feels like the only depth.
Sunflowers thrive in Chernobyl.
