Phoebe Janes

Conspicuous Consumption

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I base my work around ‘Conspicuous Consumption’, a term coined to mean the ostentation of wealth or material purchases. It can also mean the demonstration of something immaterial like ones persona, desired character traits or an association to a cultural clique. Possessions signal to ourselves, and others, who we want to be and where we want to belong.

Project description

Conspicuous Consumption (2021/2022) is a typological study of art students and the objects they carry. Each image is created collaboratively with the participant. The images encapsulate an exchange between the subject projecting a version of themselves through their belongings, and the viewer inferring knowledge about them. Appearing almost hyper-real in their immaculateness, the objects are devoid of any recognizable time or location, leaving only the semiotics of each object and the composition to represent the identity of its owner.

Each image is a manifestation of the self, which the subject has had a part in creating. An abstracted portrait is created, giving the feeling of knowing them but not seeing them.

Daily Devotion To My Personal Effects

I have created two artworks exploring intimate human relationships with belongings. The two projects are complementary in subject matter; one is playful and dynamic, the other more controlled and conceptual.

Daily Devotion To My Personal Effects (27th September 2021- Ongoing) is a colorful, digital series documenting my innumerable belongings. The ritualistic daily practice spanning seven consecutive months articulates how possessions form our synergistic identities.