Sugar Coated

In a world where populations feast on food, fashion and status, wealth has become a commodity that costs more than the planet can afford.  The term ‘Climate Emergency’ describes the effects of climate change, however societies do not want to sacrifice their lifestyles to address the predicament. We live in a world where we are sold lifestyles through visually appealing imagery that is constructed to condition viewers to adopt a particular ethos and mantra. As a result we consume more than we need to and waste even more, as a result. As a consumer, the topic is complicated and difficult to navigate. Luckily, public figures are beginning to use their platforms to address this and create conversations that are becoming more mainstream within popular culture. Lily Cole discusses in her book ‘Who Cares Wins’:

“ The problem is complex, and the solutions often contradictory. One day bio-fuels are heralded as our saviour: another day they are driving deforestation in Indonesia. Some say we should stop eating all meat; others say a small amount of holistic animal agriculture is part of the solution. The aeroplane is the poster child of destruction; yet few people know it is often more energy efficient to fly than drive solo. It’s hard to know which plastics are recyclable, harder still to know their afterlife when we put them in green bins.”

My own work, ‘Sugar Coated’ directly addresses consumer waste and starts to explore the notion that anything can attract attention and be presented to appeal to the senses, regardless of the subject matter. Waste items are literally coated in icing sugar to create visual contradiction. As a society, we are so used to being influenced by trends and visual rhetoric, that if something looks good we buy into it. Sugar Coated is devised to encourage viewers to interrogate what they are looking at and negotiate a reading with the image. The language of advertising is a powerful tool that enables products to be sold. It is for this reason that my own work is designed to use this language to continue emerging conversations that will raise awareness about a relevant topics, in a manner that is striking and easy to digest.