Being the most followed person on all of Instagram (with 138 million followers, nbd), it makes sense that Selena Gomez’ posts get a lot of attention. This time however, they’re getting the wrong sort of attention, after the previews she posted for her new single Back To You, have drawn a deluge of comparisons to the work of artist Sarah Bahbah.
The stills Selena has been sharing do bear a startling resemblance to the Palestinian artist’s cinematic work, with a deep colour palette and the songs lyrics subtitled over the pictures. Since Selena began posting the stills last week fans have let comments underneath the posts, tagging Sarah accusing the singer of ripping off her work.
Other commenters meanwhile have pointed out the aesthetic isn’t owned by one specific person, with one writing: “She’s not even the one who invented it. Many people do this kind of art so everyone is allowed to do it.” In an Instagram story Sarah Bahbah claimed that “well over 2,000 people” had sent her Selena’s posts, but neither have made a statement yet.
In an interview with i-D earlier this year, Sarah said her process behind creating her cinematic, screencap like images. “I’m a writer first, visual artist second”, she said, citing her cinematic influences as No Country for Old Men and The Big Lebowski. “The dialogue is written over a period of months, usually after I have internalised intense conversations I’ve had with once significant connections, or conversations I never had with them but wish I did. I’ll replay those conversations in my mind, and it’s the finding of unspoken dialogue in those actual conversations that becomes part of my art.”
Selena’s Back To You video was released yesterday and sees her stealing a car and escaping on an adventure with a mystery man she meets at a party. Watch the full video here:
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