This piece has to do with the manipulation of food product labels and attempting to change the viewer’s perception of the product. At first glance, the products may not look any different than normal, but if viewers look closely, they will find that many aspects of the packaging have been altered. Generally, the alterations of the words on the labels have to do with creating a more negative or satirical perception of the product. I, as the artist, have imposed these labels and words onto the products without any permission from the company. This action is an allegory for the way that the world places labels and impossible expectations on people, and the way people tend to believe them even if they are not true. There are certain parts of the project that reference self-image and the way people perceive the lies told to them about themselves by the world or media. There are also aspects that have to do with personality differences and what the world tends to value in a personality. Most of these underlying meanings are found in the small details of the product labelling, so do not be afraid to look close.
I chose to install the project using a shelf because that is how people would normally view these types of products in a store. It is important that the products are near eye-level and that viewers can see all sides of the cans and boxes. Keeping the normality of a store shelf mirrors the fact that the circumstances the project references are so common that people almost don’t realize that it is happening. Basically, the main theme of this project is that trying to live by the world’s definition of “cool” or “good” is unhealthy; and confidently living as your own individual, despite what the world thinks is valuable.
