The motivations for following a person on social media are manifold; maybe you were kind of pals in high school, they followed you first, or you think they are absolutely, positively smoking hot and you enjoy lurking their page every now and again. Regardless of how your feed is curated, you’ve definitely found yourself following a few people you don’t particularly care to keep up with. I often find myself doing this, guilt-following people on social media until my feed is full of a bunch of photos I don’t really care to see. One way I’ve found to best combat a lackluster Instagram feed is following accounts that post beautiful, thought provoking things. I’ve curated a list of my favorite Instagram artists doing cool things at the moment that deserve all the love (or in this case, likes).
Polly Nor (@pollynor)
Self described as an illustrator concerned with “drawing women and their demons”, London-based Polly Nor is interested in female identity, sexuality, emotional turmoil, and what it means to be a woman in the internet-age. Whenever I’m having my one (of many) melodramatic breakdowns, I love looking through Nor’s account, as her illustrations manage to perfectly (and disturbingly) illustrate how I’m feeling when I simply can’t find the words. Her cartoon-like style and body positive representation of the female body are some of my favorite things about Nor’s work. The scenarios she illustrates in her work may not be the most comfortable conversation pieces, but they are incredibly raw and real. I can identify with the women she imagines up in her devilish world not only because they resemble what I see in the mirror, but also because they are multifaceted creatures showcased in times of distress as well as delight.
Le Mini Di Claudia (@leminidiclaudia)
Perhaps the cutest Instagram feed out there, the account is run by a self-taught artist based in Italy. Primarily interested in hyper-realism, Claudia’s favorite things to make are food, plants, and other household items. I don’t know what it is about tiny things, but they absolutely thrill me. Maybe it’s the absurdity of something life-size going miniature, but seeing her tiny loaves of bread and mugs of fake coffee make me double-tap with delight. Outside of Instagram, Claudia also has a blog where she writes about her process for each project, such as materials and inspiration. She also has an Etsy shop, which is on the pricier side, but if you are a collector of tiny things and are looking to add to your collection, her mini cheese board is my favorite (although it rings in at seventy US dollars).
Sally Hewett (@sally_hewett)
Sally Hewett is a stitch and embroidery artist based in the UK whose work centers around bodies “deliberately altered and decorated–by man, rather than by life”. On her website, Hewett poses the question of “Are some characteristics of bodies inherently beautiful, or ugly, or disgusting? Or because we see everything through the veil of culture, fashion and convention is it almost impossible for us to see bodies objectively?” As a fan of embroidery, I was immediately pulled in by Hewett’s shockingly realistic pieces. Not only do they follow the curves and impurities of the natural human form, but she also manages to add her own crafty flare.
Phillip Kremer (@phillipkremer)
Phillip Kremer is one of the first art Instagram accounts I followed back when I desperately wanted to be a punk art kid in high school, so I hold a special place for his work in my heart. Best described as deliciously disgusting, Kremer takes familiar moments from pop culture and transplants them into distorted concepts of reality by drastically altering them in Photoshop. What were to happen if Kim Kardashian had the face of a pug, or Donald Trump’s hair was a bunch of tiny fingers? In the world Kremer creates through his work, we find out, whether you wanted to see that image or not. If you’re a fan of all things gross and creepy, you should for sure check out Kremer’s page.