In the age of algorithmic mirrors, the self we see reflected back to us may not be authentic — it may be optimized. The Narcissus Protocol examines how social media platforms cultivate a "digital Narcissus": an identity endlessly refined by likes, engagement metrics, and predictive feeds, until we can no longer tell whether we are looking into a mirror or into a machine built to keep us looking.

Celeste Gallery invites artists, designers, and researchers to submit proposals for The Narcissus Protocol — an online collective exhibition investigating the entanglement between selfhood and the algorithms that mediate it.

We live in a world where identity is increasingly authored by code. The filter that flatters us into staying. The feed that learns our desires before we do. The avatar that outlives the person who made it.

The Narcissus Protocol is not about vanity — it is about capture. About the quiet exchange we make between visibility and autonomy, and what it means to fall in love with a reflection engineered to hold our gaze.

We welcome works engaging with, but not limited to:

• Algorithmic identity and the self as data
• Surveillance capitalism and the attention economy
• Deepfakes, avatars, and synthetic selves
• The aesthetics of engagement and addiction
• Mirrors, reflection, and doubling as visual language
• Resistance, refusal, and opacity in digital space
• We welcome all media and all approaches, including but not limited to: photography, video, performance, sound art, generative art, AI-assisted work, installation, textile, painting, drawing, code-based practice, and mixed media.

Deadline: 20 September

Successful applicants will be notified within five days of the deadline.

This is an open call. All career stages and nationalities welcome.

Exhibitor Benefits:

Participation in our KUNSTMATRIX online 3D exhibition . We will provide three ways to access our 3D exhibition:

• Through our Instagram account/ad/redNote page
• Through our gallery official website page
• Through an independent domain accessed by media press

The number of views can usually reach more than 2,000.

Exhibition media promotion

We plan to publish the exhibition information across various media platforms, i.e. ArtRabbit, London Mail News, Artjobs, Eventbrite, Instagram, and etc.

Participation in our Instagram promotion

Our Instagram has over 1,000 followers, and we have our own sales resource channels.

Outstanding participants will have the opportunity to sign with the gallery, participate in art sales revenue sharing, and develop related cultural and creative products

We will select 5-10 artists and proceed with a 50/50 profit-sharing arrangement.

Some exhibitors will have the opportunity to be interviewed by us.

We will select 1 to 2 artists for interviews.

Curated by Celeste Gallery (London), all rights reserved. Celeste Gallery was founded in South East London in 2020.

£35 for selected work, covering gallery operating costs and media promotion expenses.

You can submit up to 5 pieces of work, from which we will select 1 or 2.

Pieces from the same series can be treated as a single entry, depending on the work itself.