The Digital Image as an Original Art Object

“As the product of mechanical reproduction, photography is considered here as a process of differentiation which creates a visible image of the differences between images.” – Daniel Rubinstein & Katrina Sluis (2013)

Much like two prints from the same negative can both be considered originals (owing to differences in the materiality of the final print), so too can digital images. A digital file’s individual materiality is affected by software used, compression modes, how many times it has been saved and so on. Whilst we are not necessarily familiar with reading these examples of digital materiality, they do exist. Every digital file may be considered an original, with it’s true meaning coming from a combination of the materiality, content and context, in much the same way as a traditional photographic print.

Presented here are 68 digital representations of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. While the content portrayed in each is the same, each digital version (obtained through search engines) displays elements of it’s own materiality which becomes visual manifestations of the processes which they has been through.