amber bassford
annelise berger
elijah bullard
emma burke
charmaine chan
jensen dropp
sarah frizzell
sam hudgins
harry kyle
ashley marquardt
nate perry
taylor sampson
Who We Think We Are
Shop, So This Is Me
I Am!
2025, Poster Installation,
13 x 9 feet
In a world guided by images, objects, and commodities, we focus not only on how others perceive us but also on our own self-perception. Taglines like “Think Smarter” and “Life Made Easier” convince us that objects can transform our lives, while social media feeds our incessant desire for instant gratification, encouraging a curation of one’s identity.
Capitalism finds its footing in sign value and brand awareness through a stupendous disguise of appropriation and reconstruction. Absorbed by brands, we become complicit in promoting commodified visual status symbols. Our originality fades as we succumb to the grip of capital, relying on a collapsing system. Influenced by mere seconds of an advertisement–conditioned to crave–our consumption becomes second nature. We shop, therefore we perform.