Through this body of work, I wanted to explore the themes of consumerism, progress, and how these concepts relate to identity. Throughout all of my works, I used symbolism, elements of parody, and surrealist concepts in order to convey these themes. I looked at multiple aspects of contemporary culture and past societal norms so that I could understand the impact that societal changes have on personal identities. 

The pieces in my body of work fall under two main concepts: the rise of overconsumption and its effect on the human mind, and the distancing from nature that has happened because of the convenience that comes from consumerism. Because the former concept is the basis for the latter, and mostly consists of my early works, I think that the works that are based on these themes should be placed toward the beginning of my gallery, in order to show thematic progression. I think the earliest work in the works that I am presenting, Untitled, should be shown first, because it encompasses most of the themes that are seen in my later works, and the symbolic imagery could provide a good understanding of the intent of my work.

The next work that I would present is also untitled, and is the second earliest work in the body of work that I am presenting. I think this work further elaborates on the themes that were present in the first work, and the composition is different from most of my other works, which will provide some necessary variation in the beginning of my exhibition. After this work, my series of three related works titled Marlboro Man, Family Values, and American Spirit will be shown. These works relate to the themes of consumption and commercialism, and how they are presented through advertising. I think that American Spirit is the most fitting work to be presented after Untitled, because with Untitled, I intended to show the impacts of consumption on identity, and through American Spirit, I wanted to show the roots of commercialism. The first two works that will be shown in my exhibition will show the present state of consumerism in contemporary culture, and American Spirit shows the origins of consumerism. I feel that presenting works that deal with current issues that affect people on a large scale will pique the interest of the audience. Through presenting the origins of the current form of capitalism in the United States, I hope to evoke feelings of reflection in the audience.

After American Spirit is shown, I will place Marlboro Man next as an introduction to the concepts of consumerism’s impact on nature. I think that this will bridge a gap thematically between the two concepts that I explore, and the simple composition and colors of the work makes the themes that I discuss easy to understand. After this, I will show the final work in my series of three, Family Values. This work comments on the themes of environmental work and the ways that advertising appeals to an idealistic way of thinking in order to make sales, while concealing the devastating impacts that their products can have. The next work that I will present is the only piece in my body of work that solely uses photography. This work shows the disconnect between humans and nature, which can be seen as a result of convenience due to consumer culture, but also because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which this work was in response to. After this, I will present the final work, which is a digital media piece. This work is my most abstract, so I think placing it at the end of my exhibition will create the best understanding of it.

Because this exhibition will be digital, I have some more freedoms in choosing the way that the gallery will be presented. I decided to choose a format which shows a small portion of all of the works at the bottom of the screen, and once a work is selected, it is shown fully towards the top of the website. I think this will allow the audience to view the work in a chronological order, but also have the freedom to choose which works to look at based on what interests them.