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Opening on April Fools Day, Orexart celebrates the phenomenon of the ‘selfie’ by inviting twenty artists to respond to the concept of this modern-day self-portrait, running through til 17 April.

Artists featured in Selfies include Stephen Allwood, Sarah Dolby, Richard McWhannell, John Madden, Joon-Hee Park, Dean Tercel, Peter Wichman, Evan Woodruffe and many more, and a few surprises.

“Chances are you've taken at least one selfie recently”, says Gallery Director Rex Armstrong. “It wasn't chosen as the Oxford Dictionaries' word of the year for nothing.”

A ‘selfie’ is described by Oxford Dictionaries as 'a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.'

According to The Guardian, technological advances and the prevalence of social media means that usage of the word 'selfie' has increased by 17,000% over the past 12 months.

“More than just a self-portrait, the term ‘selfie’ is loaded with the concerns of our interconnected, technological age”, says Rex Armstrong, Director of Orexart. “The selfie is the self-portrait of our digital world, an extension of our natural construction of the self which seeks a new level of self-awareness, validation, performance, and vulnerability through social media, and all its associated likes, emoticons, hashtags and retweets.”

In addition to their works, artists will create real-life selfies using an instant camera (think Polaroid) on the opening night, which will also be exhibited.

Selfies runs from 1 – 17 April at Orexart on Level 1, 15 Putiki Street, Arch Hill.