Arvida Byström and Polaroid Originals try and capture love in a digital world

Polaroid Originals have collaborated with Swedish artist, Arvida Byström, to look at soft-focused, self-reflective depictions of love in the modern world. The series, Love in a digital world is a tongue in cheek look at intimacy through the lens of emoji, iMessages and a screen-lit face in a dimly lit room.

Arvida is best known for her playful, provocative photography and her Tumblr is a time-warp into a mid-2000s era blog site, so it may not come as a surprise that she’s been enlisted to tell the story of a digi-Valentines.

Speaking about the project, she says: "When it comes to my art I like it when it sparks curiosity. I like it when it functions on different levels so that you don’t have to be super intellectual to appreciate it, but you can also dive a little deeper in it if you are interested in those parts.

“When it comes to the Polaroid shoot I started thinking about like: oh, how can I show this visually? And then I started thinking about cupid mainly as a visually cute symbol but also how phones low key with all the dating apps are like modern-day cupids," continues the photographer. “I do get that online dating isn’t for everybody, but in my experience as a straight passing queer, I honestly met some of my most important romantic partners online.”

The polaroids make use of the “Soft Touch” feature on the newest Polaroid camera, and Arvida uses the hazy pink and red backdrop to make the point about a solitary digital life, making yourself your work, and perhaps even making yourself your own Valentine. Well, you and your camera.