BARBORA PAVLASOVÁ

The Girl Theory

Video Studio

As the title suggests, your project refers to the Theory of the Young-Girl, which aims to describe the phenomenon of a particular subjectivity and the performativity of a self-image we use to present ourselves online and elsewhere. What makes this topic interesting to you? Do you think it is an accurate description of how our identities are formed today?
What I enjoy about the Theory of the Young-Girl is that it connects intimate experience with the broader structures of platform capitalism and digital culture. What often seems like a purely personal problem – the need for self-staging, optimization and constant self-analysis – is revealed as something systemic. I think it is a fairly accurate description of identity formation today, precisely because the Young-Girl does not represent a fixed type of subject, but something that is constantly changing along with aesthetics, the evolution of platforms, and modes of online performativity.

Does the topic relate to you personally? To what extent is your work autobiographical, or perhaps autofictional?
Yes, the topic is personal to me as well. However, my goal was not to create a purely autobiographical account. I use personal experience more as a starting point for reflecting on the broader mechanisms of contemporary visual culture.
A certain degree of stylization and construction is important for the project, so if I had to describe my strategy in as few words as possible, I would call it autotheory with a touch of autofiction.

The resulting video features a series of striking images. Long silver nails, a glass cube, and a mirrored phone case all have one thing in common – they reflect their surroundings. Is this a metaphor and, if yes, what does it mean?
Yes, reflection is one of the key motifs of the entire work for me. I am interested in situations where a person begins to perceive themselves primarily through their own representation and thus gradually internalizes the perspective of their surroundings. In the context of the work, reflection functions as a metaphor for contemporary subjectivity, shaped by constant visibility and self-reflection.

photo: Polina Davydenko