Simone Peat
'I want to be Orange' and 'Quiet Proximity' are explorations of the mundane life. They share themes of space, both collective and secluded. With a particular focus on the auditorial experience, these projects aim to engage the modern, fast-paced viewer and slow down time to a point of refection.
This explores how Taylor Swift performs celebrity activism through her music videos You Needto Calm Down (2019) and The Man (2020). It situates these texts within the cultural and industrial context surrounding and leading up to the release of Swift’s Lover album, a period marked byher transition from an apolitical figure to a visibly engaged public persona. The project examines how these videos construct ideas of LGBTQ+ allyship and feminism while operating within the commercial framework of contemporary pop culture. Through a semiotic analysis of visual elements such as costume, colour, and celebrity cameos, it considers how meaning is produced and circulated to audiences. Drawing on gender studies, the essay also explores how The Man critiques patriarchal norms through the performance of masculinity. Ultimately, the project asks whether Swift’s activism constitutes genuine challenges to structural power or instead operates as strategic forms of visibility that capitalise on inequality through branding, image management, and audience expansion.
Simone Peat is a Dublin based multimedia artist with a particular interest in audio. She has experience building sound scapes for both documentary and film, with a focus on landscapes and spaces. She is also focused on video production and has a strong passion for observatory storytelling.
