We present to you Marine Tanguy's book The Visual Detox – How to Consume Media Without Letting It Consume You, published in 2024 by Penguin Random House UK. The book provides an introduction to evaluating our visual environment and offers methods for filtering content, making it easier to absorb and process information.
I’m an addict, and I’m certainly not alone. Since I’ve had an online business and two small children, I’ve become hooked on social media. Like many of us, this process happened gradually but definitely started when I bought my first smartphone fourteen years ago. At first, I was thrilled by the dizzying possibilities of having the world in my pocket and receiving all the latest news instantly. The technology genuinely excited me (I see a similar enthusiasm in many people today with AI). However, I’ve now reached a point where the more I seek comforting screen content, the more tired and uncertain I feel. I think this is true for many of us, but there are certain life situations that accelerate this social media burnout, and having small children while running a business is definitely one of them.
So, I reached a point where I recognized the dangers of living online and started searching for solutions. I didn’t want my children to see me constantly with a phone in my hand, nor did I want that image to remain in their memories. At the same time, because of my work, I have to spend a certain amount of time online, actively seeking emerging artists, new styles, and interesting works. For this reason, I can’t fully withdraw from social media.
That’s when I came across Marine Tanguy's The Visual Detox. Marine is a successful London-based entrepreneur who, through her agency, sells artworks to individuals and local governments. She knows the European art scene well and, due to her work, is also active on social media.
Marine Tanguy, The Visual Detox, How to consume media without letting it consume you, Penguine Random House UK
In her book, Marine shares her own journey of visual development, explaining how our artistic narrative is shaped by the surfaces, installations, and images around us. She offers tips on how to avoid living in a bubble and successfully filter the “visuals” so that they serve us instead of the other way around.
She presents shocking statistics: the average person sees 10,000 online advertisements daily, yet our brains can only process 1% of what we see. Or that every second, 1,250,000 new images are uploaded to the web. This state of massive overload affects everyone who exists in the online space, and we haven’t even mentioned the content attacking us on billboards and screens in the streets. Anyone who wants to stay sane must filter content and, by outsmarting social media algorithms, swim against the tide, letting in only very limited content. Beyond using ad blockers and various app filters, she suggests numerous methods, with one of the most important being to consciously transform our homes and environments into places where we can recharge, allowing our minds to rest from the onslaught of online visuals.
Most of us have an inkling of why consuming visual art is beneficial, even if we hesitate to engage with it. A study showed that the same brain mechanisms are activated when we immerse ourselves in a piece of art we love as when we fall in love. No wonder many artbridge clients start their emails by saying they “fell in love” with a particular artwork! Artists are often concerned with the same issues we face, whether globally or within our local communities, and through their works, they help us shift our perspective, reflect, or even experience something transcendent.
When looking at an artwork, it’s worth taking time to consider its characteristics – its size, colors, where the focus lies, how the composition and perspective are structured. What are the distances, and how are the parts and figures oriented? And these are just the immediately visible elements. Perhaps the most important viewpoint is context: in what social environment and time period was the piece created, and is it thought-provoking, inclusive, motivating, unifying, or the opposite? What we see in our daily lives is our art, our personal gallery, which has a direct impact on how we feel. We need to start thinking about art differently and, instead of assuming it’s something distant and unrelated to us, consciously build our own visual narrative and place it in the artistic environment we share with others. The goal could be to create a collective environment where everyone is represented in the posters, on the walls, and in homes – a welcoming, democratic, and inspiring world, as Marine Tanguy envisions.
Claire Luxton, Hope, photography, 2019
The author thoroughly examines the purpose, contradictions, context, and hidden details of the content that surrounds us (both physically and online). She practically offers an introduction to the world of art historians by sharing concepts and perspectives that allow us to evaluate visuals through our own filters, beyond a simple “like/dislike” judgment. We can decide whether an image or narrative serves us or is harmful and should be removed from our environment. There is no “definitive” analysis of a work of art; everyone views the world through their own story, upbringing, and memories, so no two evaluations or emotions are the same when it comes to human experiences.
Since today’s world is flooded with content of varying quality, we can protect ourselves and maintain our independence and integrity through conscious decisions and detoxifying steps. Let’s take a look at some examples from Marine Tanguy’s book on how to combat the overwhelming stimuli!
Don’t turn on your phone or look at a screen during the first and last hour of your day.
Start noticing or recording how much time you spend online, in shopping malls, or outdoors each day.
Cleanse your phone of unnecessary apps, and use ad blockers on all your internet devices.
Take photos of your bedroom, kitchen, or office and plan how to redesign them, removing unnecessary or unpleasant elements and adding new, pleasant, and mentally positive things or images.
Consciously plan your visual schedule! After watching a movie or spending a lot of time in front of screens, incorporate relaxing activities for your eyes, like reading a book or print media, or going for a walk in nature.
Have screen-free days!
Unfollow any content that doesn’t inspire you or that you find yourself attached to only because of negative emotions. Instead, seek inspiring, beautiful content, following profiles of museums, galleries, and artists.
Spend 5 minutes each day with art! Visit a museum or gallery, find a work that captivates you, and think about its features, message, and how it makes you feel.
Lastly, regularly treat yourself to visual changes that bring joy and peace, whether it’s a new phone background, new pictures on your walls, or simply rearranging your bookshelf by color.
Start conversations about what you see around you and how you’d like to shape your neighborhood or town to create a more livable, beautiful, and sustainable environment.
Some of these points might already be familiar to us or things we practice, but if we apply them together, we can significantly reduce visual “junk,” contributing to our well-being and overall quality of life. Let’s make it happen!
Written by: Eszter Zborai, founder of artbridge
