- Cursed JPEG
- Cursed JPEG
Feldman attributes the "cursed" aesthetic to the nature of digital photography in the early 2000s,
where point-and-shoot cameras lacked modern filters and were often used with "blaring" flash,
and where a photo would be taken more for archival purposes than performative social media sharing.
Feldman regards such photography as "not old enough to scan as 'vintage',
but not well-manicured enough to be recognizable as contemporary", and sees this as an instance of the uncanny valley.
T Yixin Zhang arrives at the scene to search for clues.