Ahna Anomaly, San Francisco, California Social networks have changed the meaning of friendship. They might be called Facebook 'friends,' but we might not have seen some of these people in a long time, or even met them in person.
With this paradigm in mind, photographer Tanja Alexia Hollander decided to take friendship back out of the virtual and into the real world, by visiting and photographing all of her 626 Facebook friends.
Since 2011 she has been traveling around the USA and to countries as far as the UK, Belgium, France, Greece, and Malaysia to meet her friends in their homes, take their portrait and share real-life experiences with them.
Shannon Lam and Maury Browning, Sungai Long, Malaysia
According to MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA, where Hollander's Are you really my friend? is currently on display, the project turned from a personal documentary on friendship into,
". . . an exploration of contemporary culture, relationships, generosity and compassion, family structure, community-building, storytelling, meal-sharing, the economy and class, the relationship between technology and travel in the 21st century, social networking, memory, and the history of the portrait. ”
Mary Bok with Surely and Honey the dogs, Camden, Maine
You can see all the images and learn more about Are you really my friend? on the project website. You can also follow Tanja Alexia Hollander on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to find out about her ongoing work.
All images courtesy of Tanja Hollander and MASS MoCA, used with permission
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