Anyone who is curious about the absurd lengths to which the pursuit of beauty promoted by social media can be taken, need only look at two recent trends. The first is the so-called airport tray, which involves the artful “fixing” of personal belongings—sunglasses, watch, bag, etc., without a boarding pass and/or passport—on a plastic airport tray. The second is “fridgescaping”, where, apart from the usual eggs, milk, butter etc., one puts decorative items such as flowers and photo frames inside the fridge. When the images of these two methods are collected by users and the marketing departments of the product – the publishing house Faber, for example, used an airport tray to present the readings of its season – it made many ask how much is too much, when it comes to the eternal brilliance of the banal.
Besides what critics see as the obvious ridiculousness of these methods – does the fridge really need to be “decorated”? – and are marked by a worrying prioritization of social media verification above all else. Airport tray style, in particular, may seem inconsiderate to some people. Is the airport security line, one of the most patience-testing aspects of travel, really the place to devote one’s time to photo editing? For the aggrieved airport staff and their fellow passengers, it’s further upsetting, adding tension to an already upsetting experience.
It can be argued, however, that there is something brave about trying to make a place for beauty in the banal, the boring or the disturbing. Going through airport security or opening someone’s refrigerator doesn’t have to involve an art appreciation lesson, but what’s wrong with making the experience, even if only for a moment, more aesthetically pleasing? There is much about the world today that is unpleasant and negative: Coming across a stranger’s photo of an airport tray in the empty section of one’s social media feed can offer relief.