Making the Invisible Scars of Social Media Visible Through Oil Paint

Gretchen Andrew’s Facetune Portraits uses oil paint to reveal the invisible scars of social media.

Making the Invisible Scars of Social Media Visible Through Oil Paint.

On the surface, social media offers perfection: flawless skin, sharp jawlines, sparkling eyes. But beneath the gloss lies something less visible—the quiet scars left on our self-image. With Facetune Portraits, I use oil paint to expose those scars, translating the hidden wounds of digital life into something tangible, even confrontational.

Oil painting carries with it a history of portraiture, of representing human identity in all its individuality. By turning this tradition toward the effects of filters and algorithms, I highlight the tension between timeless artistry and fleeting digital trends. Every brushstroke works against the smooth erasure of social media editing, reintroducing the texture, flaws, and differences that make us human.

The scars I paint aren’t literal—they’re the marks left by scrolling, comparing, and chasing an impossible standard. They’re the invisible wounds of seeing ourselves through the lens of technology rather than through our own eyes.

By making these scars visible, Facetune Portraits asks us to reconsider the cost of digital perfection. What does it mean when beauty is reduced to sameness, when individuality is erased, when flaws are smoothed away until nothing human remains?