Brenners Alienation project is a chopper-etching-series on Hahnemühle paper from a series created in 2020 based on heavily distorted selfie photographs.

The works function as self-portraits or avatars that no longer resemble the artist’s actual appearance, but rather unfamiliar, almost alien beings derived from manipulated images of the self. The source image underwent repeated cycles of re-photographing between smartphone and laptop screens, allowing light reflections, screen angles, and varying resolutions to progressively deform the face. This process transformed a recognizable portrait into an estranged visual entity. Transferred onto a copper plate and printed through traditional intaglio techniques, the digital image gains physical depth and material presence. The square format references social media platforms such as Instagram, reflecting on how digital self-representation can reshape identity and our perception of the self in an increasingly hybrid digital–analog world.