A Dedicated Selfie Museum Is Opening in Los Angeles

Today, intricately painted portraits line art gallery walls. Tomorrow, it'll be selfies. In fact, a new Los Angeles museum is dedicating its entire space to the snaps we all take of ourselves. Called The Museum of Selfies, it'll open for a limited time from January.

The upcoming addition to LA isn't the first place or exhibition championing the cause, with a site in the Philippines taking that honour, but it is jumping on board with gusto. As well as showcasing selfies in all of their guises, attendees can expect hands-on installations that chart their history, play with common themes and — of course — encourage plenty of snap-taking. Bucking the trend in other galleries in recent years, selfie sticks are certain to be welcome.

Highlights will include an Iron Throne made out of those very items, like Westeros would have if it had the technology, plus set-ups dedicated to food selfies, bathroom selfies, rooftop selfies and more. Narcissism, the rise of deaths attributed to selfies and contemporary artists' takes on selfies will also feature, mixing the psychological, societal and creative, plus something designed to make the Guinness Book of World Records.

Overall, the museum aims to document, probe and challenge our fascination with the self-portrait form, as well as the perception of it in these iPhone-wielding times. Are selfies art? What makes your selfie-filled Instagram feed any different to artist self-portraits on canvas? Why can't we stop taking them? They're just some of the questions that'll be under consideration.

The timing comes hot on the heels of a recent study on the concept of 'selfitis', which proposes that excessive selfie-snapping might be a mental disorder. According to research out of Nottingham Trent University, anyone taking at least three selfies a day could be afflicted. Whether or not you're convinced, visitors to The Museum of Selfies are certain to hit that target the moment they walk in the gallery's doors.

Via Mashable/Time Out.