Are you an independently thinking individual who just happens to choose to behave like everyone else around you? Or, is your identity manufactured?
Does our society require standard individuals just as it requires standard commodities for mass production?
If this is the case, how is a standard identity shaped?
Laaaotfohc art installation
Confusing identity with market and art with advertising.
In the installation, the status of the artwork is used to promote a patented genetic code.
However, if a message is sent to the address provided in the advertising material, an error message is generated with the same genetic code as the advertisement.
In a senseless circle.
Context
In the artistic discourses of the time (2006), the theme of identity was very present from a subjective and philosophical perspective. However, in line with my research on informational manipulation, I was more interested in the political point of view.
The theme of identity was also present in the media, but from the fascination with the sequencing of the human genome, which was expected to unveil all mysteries.
My research on propaganda made me doubt to what extent we are free to shape our own identity. I wondered how much of what we are is learned to fit into the social machinery, and how much is of our own making.
Furthermore, in the world of art around me, I observed contradictions in the practice of postmodern theories. I suspected that postmodern relativism was watered by market forces, creating confusion.
The title of the work (Language as an acknowledgment of the failure of human communication) is a phrase I read in a book that I no longer remember. If you happen to recognise it, please let me know who wrote it and where, via the contact form or by email at veronicapk@grafeo.com.
Thank you very much.
Technical details:
Acrylic, metallic pigment, and charcoal on canvas 31 cm x 31 cm.
Acrylic flyer holder with flyers on printed paper 21.5 cm x 11.5 cm
Black wood pedestal
A5 flyer, 4.5 cm x 8.5 cm business card
Email address and message.
Events:
Art exhibition. 15 artists explore the theme of identity. London, 2006
I also did the graphic design for the exhibition.