Statement

PICTAS reclaim and reimagine the endless flood of social media photography, reverse-engineering it into poetic, theatrical micro-stories.

Rooted in the traditions of Allan Kaprow’s Happenings, Realist Drama, and Minimalist Art, they carry these legacies forward — transforming the visual language of Instagram, TikTok, and everyday images into raw material for new storytelling.

Each PICTA is a five-sentence score, meant to be performed aloud, enacted, memorized, or simply imagined — like a John Cage composition, a Sol LeWitt instruction, or a whispered dream.

PICTAS steal it back and let it fly again — offering a frame for memory, movement, and the ephemeral art of being alive.

"Photography is theft — stealing a moment from the river of oblivion and pinning it like a butterfly." ~RP

#reyparla_pictas @reyparla

REFLECTOR#PCT001

She stands in the crosswalk holding a cracked mirror to the sky.
A pigeon lands beside her, stares into its fractured face.
A man across the street takes a picture but forgets to look up.
She lowers the mirror slowly, revealing a flash of lipstick on her chin.
Someone whispers, “I thought that was performance,” but no one replies.

STASIS#PCT002

He hasn’t moved in an hour, phone in hand, thumb frozen mid-scroll.
Shoppers drift past like waves around a rock.
A child stares at him, mirroring the stillness.
Someone leaves a coffee at his feet and walks away.
Finally, he blinks—as if returning from the dead.

ECHO#PCT003

A woman in workout gear shouts into a parking garage.
The word “love” bounces back, distorted and distant.
She laughs like it’s an inside joke only concrete understands.
A man filming her mouths the same word, never making a sound.
Their lips never quite sync.

FRAMED#PCT004

A golden frame hangs from a tree with no canvas inside.
People step into it one by one and pose without smiling.
A drone circles above, capturing angles no mirror could offer.
The wind changes direction; the frame spins wildly.
Someone claps as if it’s the end of a play.

VANITY#PCT005

She applies lipstick using the darkened phone screen as her mirror.
Behind her, a neon sign flashes the word “TRUTH” in pulsing red.
The reflection is warped, but she nods in approval.
Two tourists snap her photo and post it with the caption: #candid.
Later, she deletes everything but keeps the memory of the color.

HALO#PCT006

A bicycle wheel painted gold leans against a fire hydrant.
Children run in circles, pretending to be saints.
An older woman prays to it and weeps.
No one knows if it’s part of the art installation.
The wheel is stolen by midnight.

LOOP#PCT007

He plays the same three seconds of a video over and over.
The clip shows someone laughing, then suddenly turning serious.
He watches it like it holds a secret.
Around him, time continues without consent.
He presses play again and mouths the words.

MIRAGE#PCT008

Two women walk in perfect sync, dressed identically.
One turns and walks away, dissolving into heat shimmer.
The other stands, waiting, uncertain if she’s still real.
A camera clicks.
She checks her reflection in a store window and walks on.

THREAD#PCT009

A red ribbon stretches across the sidewalk, tied to nothing on either end.
People step over it without question.
One man follows it until he’s out of sight.
Someone posts a photo with the caption: “Art?”
The ribbon is gone by morning, but the question stays.

CANDID#PCT010

He pretends not to see the camera.
She pretends not to be posing.
Their drinks sweat in the sunlight like nervous witnesses.
The photo goes viral.
They never speak again.

SPILL#PCT011

A barista drops a cup of coffee in slow motion.
No one helps—three phones are already recording.
The liquid spreads like an inkblot, testing everyone’s Rorschach.
A dog walks through it and leaves brown pawprints.
Later, the manager mops it all like it never happened.

SILHOUETTE#PCT012

At sunset, someone dances behind a white bedsheet hung in an alley.
The outline sways like a puppet without strings.
A boom box clicks off; silence feels staged.
An audience forms without knowing why.
Then the sheet blows away, and no one is there.

MIRROR#PCT013

A broken mirror sits on a stoop beside a handwritten note: “Take what you need.”
Passersby stop and peer in, picking their favorite shard.
One woman walks off with a sliver shaped like a tear.
A boy frames his eye with it and stares into traffic.
The rest is swept away by someone who never read the sign.

FILTER#PCT014

A girl takes selfies beneath graffiti that reads “BE YOURSELF.”
Each photo has a different filter, each caption more perfect than the last.
Her battery dies mid-pose.
She checks her face in a window and doesn’t recognize it.
For a moment, she’s just her.

DUSK#PCT015

He stands on the roof, waiting for the light to change.
Golden hour hits, and his shadow stretches like a question mark.
Someone below takes a photo, unaware they’re part of the frame.
The wind kicks up, and the city exhales.
Then the moment is gone, and so is he.

PANIC#PCT016

A siren blares, but no one knows why.
People look at each other, unsure whether to run or film.
A woman drops her groceries and screams into her phone.
The sound stops suddenly.
Then someone claps, and everyone joins in.

PAUSE#PCT017

In the middle of a crowded subway car, a man freezes mid-sentence.
Everyone waits for the punchline.
He doesn’t blink.
Someone checks his pulse.
He whispers, “Just needed to hold still.”

SIGNAL#PCT018

A woman waves her phone in the air like she’s summoning ghosts.
No service.
She climbs onto a bench, still waving.
A light flickers in a distant window.
She texts one word: “found.”

REPEAT#PCT019

They kiss in front of a mural that says “Do Not Repeat.”
He pulls back, confused.
She leans in again, defiantly.
A bystander takes a photo and posts it with the tag: #romance.
Three years later, it shows up in her memories.

DRIFT#PCT020

A paper boat floats down the gutter during a rainstorm.
A child chases it like it’s his life story.
Someone films from above, narrating in a fake British accent.
The boat slips into a drain.
The boy claps like it won an award.

POSE#PCT021

She strikes a pose in front of a “No Loitering” sign.
Her heels click like a metronome against the wall.
A friend counts down from three, but she holds it long after.
A security guard watches, then adjusts his stance.
For a moment, they both belong there.

SLICE#PCT022

A man eats pizza with a fork and knife on a park bench.
Pigeons gather like critics.
He drops a piece and leaves it there like a gift.
A couple sits down and pretends not to notice.
Later, a squirrel carries it off like a trophy.

TRACE#PCT023

Fingertips smear a foggy window with symbols no one can read.
A child copies them carefully on her own window across the aisle.
The train moves, but the message lingers.
Rain washes it clean.
Only the girl remembers what it meant.

WITNESS#PCT024

He watches the same streetlight blink on every night at 7:03.
One night, it doesn’t.
He waits until 8:12 before going inside.
No one asks why he’s late.
But he leaves the light on in every room that night.

MASK#PCT025

A woman wears a paper mask with her own face printed on it.
She rides the bus and never speaks.
People avoid eye contact, unsure where to look.
At her stop, she removes the mask, revealing another identical one underneath.
A child laughs and says, “She’s magic.”

GLARE#PCT026

A car alarm blares for seven minutes straight.
A man stands across the street staring at it without blinking.
People gather behind him, forming an accidental protest.
The car owner returns and waves, embarrassed.
No one waves back.

GLITCH#PCT027

She moves in and out of the frame like a skipped record.
Each motion repeats twice.
Someone asks, “Is this a performance or a malfunction?”
She never answers, only rewinds.
Eventually, the audience leaves, but she keeps going.

DOUBLE#PCT028

He sees himself across the street wearing the same clothes.
They both pause.
Only one takes a photo.
Later, he can’t find it on his phone.
But it shows up in someone else’s story.

SCREEN#PCT029

A woman sets up a projector on a sidewalk at midnight.
She plays family videos onto a blank alley wall.
Strangers stop, silently watching birthdays they were never invited to.
She weeps behind the screen, lit by the past.
The power cuts out just before someone says “I love you.”

RIPPLE#PCT030

A pebble drops into a fountain near a museum.
The ripples reflect a distorted version of a bronze statue nearby.
A man sketches the water, not the sculpture.
Later, the sketch sells for more than the statue.
The fountain is drained for repairs, and never refilled.

TINT#PCT031

A pair of sunglasses sits on a windowsill at sunset.
Through them, everything turns violet and slow.
A man tries them on and forgets where he is.
He leaves them on a park bench for someone else.
By morning, they’re gone, but the light feels different.

WINK#PCT032

A giant billboard blinks once, then goes dark.
People cheer like it’s a firework show.
A child says, “It saw us.”
No one corrects her.
The billboard stays off for seven hours.

FOCUS#PCT033

A woman with a DSLR adjusts her lens in a mirror maze.
Every angle shows someone different.
She takes one photo, then smashes the mirror with her tripod.
No one sees what she captured.
She deletes it anyway.

SHADE#PCT034

A man drags a folding chair down a sidewalk, following a patch of shadow.
He sits only when the sun stops chasing him.
Someone offers sunscreen, but he declines.
A pigeon lands on his shoulder and doesn’t leave.
Eventually, both vanish into the shade.

CLOUD#PCT035

Someone draws clouds on a sidewalk using whipped cream.
The sun melts them into puddles that look like maps.
Tourists step around them like sacred signs.
A street cleaner wipes everything clean.
The scent of sugar lingers.

STORY#PCT036

A stranger hands out fortune cookies with no fortunes inside.
Each one breaks with a different sound.
A woman laughs and says, “That was mine.”
A man eats three and waits for nothing.
The stranger disappears behind a newsstand.

GHOST#PCT037

A bench is roped off with yellow tape that reads “OCCUPIED.”
No one sits there for three days.
Someone leaves flowers.
A child asks who died, but no one knows.
Eventually, the tape fades to white.

GRIT#PCT038

A street artist uses sandpaper to write words on a plexiglass wall.
Every letter squeals like protest.
Crowds gather, then leave one by one.
The final word is “STAY.”
It fades by the next morning.

CUE#PCT039

A red light flashes above a bus stop, but no bus ever comes.
A man steps forward like an actor hitting his mark.
He reads from a script taped to the pole.
The audience claps, though no one knows why.
The light turns green, and he bows.

VIBE#PCT040

A boom box plays the same beat on loop all afternoon.
No one dances, but everyone walks differently.
A dog barks in rhythm.
The battery dies and people applaud.
Someone says, “That was the best concert I’ve ever heard.”

LENS#PCT041

A stranger hands out disposable cameras and says, “Use them wisely.”
People take pictures of things they usually ignore.
At sunset, he collects the cameras without speaking.
The next day, their photos appear pasted on a wall.
No one remembers taking them.

FLARE#PCT042

Someone lights a road flare during a wedding ceremony.
Guests gasp, unsure if it’s part of the plan.
The bride smiles like she knew all along.
Ash falls gently onto the veil.
A child dances in the smoke.

EDIT#PCT043

A man sits on a bench with a Sharpie, crossing out words in a newspaper.
He rewrites the headlines to match his mood.
Strangers gather, offering him new sections.
By nightfall, he’s covered in ink.
Someone calls him the new editor-in-chief.

SNAP#PCT044

A woman walks through a crowd snapping invisible photos.
Each click causes someone to stop and smile.
She carries no camera.
A boy asks, “Are we famous now?”
She nods and keeps moving.

PIXEL#PCT045

A giant TV screen in Times Square glitches for three full minutes.
Colors rain like confetti.
Someone cheers, “It’s a masterpiece!”
Tourists record the error.
The glitch becomes a trend.

SCENE#PCT046

A chalk outline appears in front of a bakery.
No one knows who or what it was.
Someone adds sunglasses and a baguette.
It becomes a local attraction.
By the weekend, it’s featured in Yelp reviews.

EVIDENCE#PCT047

A pair of shoes are cemented into the sidewalk with no plaque.
Locals start leaving notes nearby.
A tourist photographs them daily at the same time.
The shoes disappear one night.
But the notes keep coming.

DREAM#PCT048

A man walks backward through a shopping mall, whispering in French.
Security watches, confused.
He offers no explanation.
Someone posts the video with the caption: “Sleepwalking?”
It gets 2 million views.

SCRIPT#PCT049

A woman drops pages of a script from a rooftop.
Each one lands face-up, showing only the word “ACT.”
Pedestrians improvise wildly.
A dancer joins.
She never reveals the ending.

TETHER#PCT050

Two people walk opposite directions, joined by a long red ribbon.
Neither acknowledges the connection.
The ribbon drags behind, snagging on bikes and signs.
A child tries to grab it and fails.
They disappear into the crowd, still bound.

FOLD#PCT051

A napkin folds itself in the wind and lands perfectly in a wine glass.
A waiter glances over and nods like it’s part of the service.
Two lovers watch it spin, unsure if it’s an omen or a joke.
A phone buzzes but no one checks it.
The napkin stays there all night, soaking up the silence.

TRACE#PCT052

Someone draws a circle around a crack in the sidewalk.
Each day, the crack grows, and the circle is redrawn.
People begin leaving coins inside it.
A man in a suit steps over and whispers, “It’s alive.”
No one laughs.

SHADOW#PCT053

Her shadow appears on the wall before she turns the corner.
It waves.
She steps into view, surprised to see people watching.
Someone claps once.
She bows, not knowing why.

NOISE#PCT054

At 3:00 a.m., a single saxophone riff echoes from a rooftop.
Neighbors lean out, lit by TVs and insomnia.
A woman in curlers yells, “Again!”
The saxophonist obliges, and birds begin to sing.
By sunrise, the street is full of chairs.

TONE#PCT055

A payphone rings in an empty parking lot.
A teenager answers and hears static, then laughter.
He hangs up and looks around, half-expecting applause.
Someone films from across the street.
The clip goes viral with the caption: ghost call challenge.

SCAN#PCT056

A girl pretends to scan people’s barcodes with a toy laser.
Beep. “You’re 89% sad,” she says to a stranger.
He smiles and says, “Discount day.”
They nod and walk away in opposite directions.
A real scanner buzzes behind them.

FREEZE#PCT057

In mid-conversation, she stops moving entirely.
Not blinking, not breathing, not present.
Her friend tries to shake her but only gets a smile.
Someone snaps a photo, confused.
She resumes as if nothing happened.

WITNESS#PCT058

He records every passerby from a stoop with no explanation.
Each video is ten seconds, no more.
He names them things like “Butterfly Man” or “Shoelace Ghost.”
At night, he deletes them all but one.
That one plays on loop in a corner gallery downtown.

TAP#PCT059

A dancer performs in dead silence on a basketball court.
Only her feet echo.
Kids gather, unsure if it’s rehearsed or possessed.
She taps until her shoes fall apart.
Then walks away barefoot, leaving rhythm in her wake.

MARK#PCT060

He draws an X on the sidewalk and sits there for hours.
People avoid it, like it’s cursed.
A woman joins him without asking why.
They sit until sunset.
Then both walk away, leaving the X behind.

WALL#PCT061

Someone paints a door on a brick wall and leaves it ajar.
By noon, people begin knocking softly.
A child walks through it and vanishes around the corner.
No one chases him.
Later, someone writes “EXIT” above the door in chalk.

GRAZE#PCT062

Two strangers brush hands in a crowded escalator ride.
Neither speaks, but both turn slightly, unsure.
The moment stretches thin, electric, awkward, honest.
Then one steps off and vanishes into the terminal.
The other lingers until the escalator ends.

CAUGHT#PCT063

She catches a falling lemon at a fruit stand with one hand.
Someone gasps and calls her a magician.
She bows, still holding the lemon like a relic.
A man takes a photo and captions it “Grace.”
She places the lemon back and walks away smiling.

RECORD#PCT064

A vinyl spins on a sidewalk, hooked to no player.
Music drifts out, low and impossible.
People walk past like it’s normal.
A teenager kneels to listen and begins to hum along.
By dusk, the record is gone, but the tune stays in the air.

WINK#PCT065

The traffic light blinks twice, out of rhythm.
She takes it as a sign and crosses early.
A car slows, the driver nods, both pretending they rehearsed it.
At the other side, she salutes the sky.
The light goes back to normal.

TONE#PCT066

He speaks only in musical notes for one whole day.
Strangers think he’s mocking them, but he isn’t.
A busker tunes her guitar to match his speech.
They perform a conversation without lyrics.
The crowd leaves unsure what was said but still clapping.

SLICE#PCT067

A woman opens a pizza box in the rain and eats without flinching.
Each drop sizzles like applause on the cardboard.
She offers a slice to a passing jogger, who nods but doesn’t stop.
A dog licks the crust left on the bench.
No one asks if it was performance.

SKETCH#PCT068

A man sketches portraits of people without their knowledge.
He leaves the drawings taped to walls near where they stood.
Some find theirs and cry. Others never notice.
He never signs them.
Only the shadows recognize his line.

MUTE#PCT069

A woman mouths a story to the wind on a rooftop.
No sound comes, only the shape of her passion.
A drone hovers nearby, watching.
Later, a silent video goes viral — no one knows what she said.
But everyone agrees it was beautiful.

PIXEL#PCT070

A man wears a suit covered in QR codes.
Each code links to a different childhood photo.
Strangers scan him like a gallery.
He never speaks, just walks in slow motion.
At sunset, he jumps in the river and disappears.

HEAT#PCT071

Sweat drips from his brow and lands on a subway poem sticker.
The ink smudges into new verses.
He smiles like he authored them on purpose.
Someone takes a picture and says, “It’s better this way.”
He doesn’t disagree.

SHINE#PCT072

A child polishes a fire hydrant with a damp towel.
No one asks why.
An old man watching says, “That’s how you honor the city.”
Tourists start photographing it like it’s a sculpture.
By nightfall, it gleams like gold.

HINT#PCT073

A whisper passes through a bookshop with no visible source.
Every person turns one page, synchronized.
The clerk raises an eyebrow but says nothing.
Later, all the books are open to chapter five.
No one knows why.

SIGHT#PCT074

A blindfolded man walks a straight line down a busy street.
People part without touching him.
He stops at a fountain and lifts the blindfold slowly.
No one’s watching — except one child filming quietly.
He nods toward her and smiles.

SPARK#PCT075

Two strangers’ fingers brush reaching for the same lighter.
They don’t speak, just flick it once and watch the flame dance.
A gust of wind extinguishes it instantly.
Both laugh like it meant something.
The lighter stays on the bench as they walk away.

HOLD#PCT076

She holds her breath for an entire elevator ride.
Everyone else breathes harder.
When the doors open, she exhales and bows slightly.
A man claps, unsure why.
The doors close again.

LINE#PCT077

A chalk line stretches across the plaza for forty feet.
No signs. No explanation.
People step over it like it matters.
A jogger follows it to the end and shrugs.
The next day, it curves into a spiral.

FRAME#PCT078

Someone spray-paints a golden rectangle on a blank brick wall.
By noon, people are taking photos in front of it.
Someone proposes there.
By night, it’s been tagged with hearts and names.
A sign is posted: DO NOT CLEAN.

PULSE#PCT079

A drumbeat pulses from inside a man’s backpack.
He walks in perfect rhythm down Fifth Avenue.
A small parade forms behind him, uninvited.
He never looks back.
When he turns a corner, the beat stops.

GLOW#PCT080

At midnight, she paints a line of glowing dots on the sidewalk.
They form a constellation no one can name.
Couples lay down to trace it with their fingers.
A cat walks through it and vanishes.
By dawn, the glow fades, but the stars remain.

FLOAT#PCT081

A man lies on his back in a public fountain, eyes closed.
Coins cling to his shirt like medals.
No one asks him to leave.
Someone takes a Polaroid and hands it to him dripping wet.
He smiles and floats on.

STICK#PCT082

A popsicle stick rests on the center of a museum floor.
A crowd forms in quiet reverence.
A guard leans in and whispers, “It’s not part of the exhibit.”
A woman replies, “Now it is.”
The stick remains for weeks.

CIRCUIT#PCT083

A skateboarder loops the same city block exactly 108 times.
Onlookers begin timing him.
At the final turn, he throws the board in the air and walks away.
The board lands upright and spins.
Then someone else takes off.

SCROLL#PCT084

A long receipt flutters out of a trash can.
Each item listed is a feeling.
“Regret — $2.11. Nostalgia — $5.04.”
A woman smooths it out and tucks it into her wallet.

SEQUENCE#PCT085

Ten dancers in different neighborhoods perform identical routines at once.
Only surveillance cameras see the full choreography.
A hacker stitches the footage into a seamless film.
It premieres online with no credits.
The title reads simply: WE WERE HERE.

STARE#PCT086

A mime stands at a street corner, eyes locked with one commuter.
Neither blinks.
The light changes three times.
The mime finally smiles.
The commuter walks away smiling too.

GRAIN#PCT087

An old man tosses breadcrumbs into a puddle.
The ripples form faces, just for a second.
A teenager films it and adds lo-fi music.
The caption reads, “He feeds ghosts.”
Overnight, it gets a million plays.

LOOP#PCT088

A busker plays the same four notes for six hours straight.
Crowds shift, come and go, but the melody never changes.
Someone offers him food, another a hug.
He stops, takes a breath, and says, “I was waiting for that.”
Then changes the chord.

MOTION#PCT089

An empty stroller rolls down a hill toward a lake.
People scream until they realize it’s filled with stuffed animals.
A woman wades in slowly and rescues it.
She bows deeply to the crowd.
Everyone applauds, then wonders who she was.

SCAN#PCT090

An artist scans barcodes off random grocery items and tattoos them on his arm.
Each scan at checkout shows a different name.
He says, “I contain multitudes.”
A cashier scans him twice and winks.
The receipt reads: 1 Human Soul — $0.00.

HUSH#PCT091

During a thunderstorm, someone sets up a silent disco in a parking lot.
Dancers wear headphones, but nature supplies the bass.
A flash of lightning syncs with a backflip.
A woman removes her headphones to listen to the silence.
It’s louder than anything else.

TEXTURE#PCT092

He glues sandpaper to his coat sleeves.
When people brush past, sparks of static light fly.
Kids call him “Mr. Fire.”
He nods like it’s true.
By winter, the coat is velvet.

HOLD#PCT093

She offers her hand to a statue and waits.
A breeze moves the scarf around its neck.
She nods and whispers, “Thank you.”
A child gives her a flower.
The statue watches.

FRAME#PCT094

A picture frame hangs in the middle of a park, suspended by wires.
No photo inside.
People take turns standing behind it, smiling.
A man proposes through it.
Someone steals the frame that night.

MENTION#PCT095

A man yells a stranger’s name in a crowded street.
She turns, confused, and says, “That’s my middle name.”
They sit on a bench and say nothing for an hour.
When they leave, he calls out, “Thank you!”
She never looks back.

SCROLL#PCT096

Someone spray-paints an entire Instagram feed onto a wall.
Filters and all.
Pedestrians like it with Sharpie hearts.
An old woman adds a comment in chalk: “More real than the real thing.”
The city leaves it untouched.

SHINE#PCT097

A shoeshiner sets up under a freeway overpass.
Nobody stops.
So he shines his own shoes for hours.
By evening, the whole street reflects light.
Someone finally sits down.

HOLD#PCT098

Two people hold hands through a fence.
They don’t speak, just squeeze once, twice, pause.
A news crew arrives and starts filming.
They release and vanish into separate crowds.
The footage loops on the evening broadcast.

VIGNETTE#PCT099

A girl paints tiny portraits on fallen leaves.
She leaves them on subway seats.
Commuters pocket them like secrets.
One ends up framed in a museum.
The label says: Unknown.

MOTION#PCT100

A man dances in front of a “Caution: Wet Floor” sign.
He slips, recovers, and spins into a bow.
The crowd thinks it’s part of the act.
He shrugs and walks off barefoot.
The sign stays long after the floor dries.