London-based freelance graphic designer Casey Roarty, who previously crafted artwork for bands and worked at Warner Music, initiated "Is This Still Available?" as a personal project. The idea emerged from his own house move, which led him to spend a considerable amount of time browsing Facebook Marketplace for second-hand items. While scrolling, Roarty began to notice a recurring aesthetic in the images posted by sellers.
He observed what he describes as "strange and unintentionally beautiful images". These photos, taken for purely practical reasons, often featured "awkward crops, harsh flash, domestic lighting, blurred and scribbled-out faces and heavy image compression". Roarty recognized that the beauty in these images was often accidental and therefore overlooked, giving them a soft, almost painterly quality. His project involves recreating these digital artifacts, highlighting their unique visual characteristics.
Roarty's work offers a commentary on the current landscape of image-making. In an era where AI can generate "perfectly polished images" with ease, making it difficult to discern human touch, he believes the story and process behind art become more important than ever. By deliberately focusing on the imperfect and uncurated, Roarty's project responds to the overwhelming presence of slick imagery online. He aims to find and give new life to things that feel "odd, specific and human".
For artists today, Roarty's approach underscores the value of looking for inspiration in unexpected places and the potential of personal projects. It demonstrates how everyday digital detritus can be a source of artistic exploration, turning practical, utilitarian images into a deliberate aesthetic statement. This method encourages artists to experiment instinctively and to find their voice by engaging with the raw, unfiltered visual culture that surrounds us, rather than solely pursuing polished perfection. It also highlights how an artist's personal experiences, like moving house, can directly inform and inspire a significant body of work.
Artists seeking to develop their own personal projects or explore unconventional sources of inspiration might find numerous open calls and funding opportunities on platforms like Opportuning.