“Avatar” reflects on the emergence of the online persona, perpetuated by the integration of social media into our everyday life. In the digital space, one can present a social profile that best represents their ideal version of self. Thus, this illustration reflects on our obsession with the image, as we continue to switch up our profile pictures, and brush up our Instagram bios, building up a virtual self to coexist with our real life identities.
“My Tower”, illustrates an over-emphasis on personal vision in the design of architecture, depicting impractical living spaces. When artistic design and/or profit is prioritized over the bigger picture, the structure may jeopardize both public safety and sustainability, causing irreversible damage in the long run.
“Girl Types” shows the same girl, presenting herself in her various personas, as the person on the other end ponders on his ideal type. This illustration is a reflection of the dating app experience and the paradox of choice. When met with endless profiles, attempting to “customize” your perfect match so that they check off all your boxes, will actually lead to a level of dissatisfaction and burnout.
“Get the Look” contemplates the cycle of a fashion trend. With the emergence of social media, mass manufacturers, and the commodification of aesthetics, comes styles more obtainable, as well as micro trends that cycle through faster than ever before.
“Fructose” depicts the customization of fruits, as it reflects on the human practice of genetically modifying fruits in order to achieve the desired sweetness, size, and appearance. The result is that modern fruits are extremely high in fructose, but lacking in nutritional value.
“Friends” depicts the manipulation of a photograph, and analyzes the control that a person has over the image of their friends on social media. It considers the way that friends are aestheticized in order to fit into the aesthetic of the user’s gallery. Friendships can become artificial and customized, once it gets reduced to an image to be selected, cropped, filtered, captioned, and finally, posted.
“Decked Out” illustrates the customization of a wedding cake. Sometimes, decorations gone too far can override the meaning and significance of the occasion itself.
“Build a Pet” depicts a creature removed from its natural habitat, sitting in a chemical-filled beauty salon, entirely dependent on humans for survival and maintenance. The illustration questions the human practice of domesticating animals, and whether their features should be bred and “customized” solely to fit our liking.
“Stuff” contemplates the idea of an overly customized living space. It depicts impractical lamp designs and ponders on the journey that they had gone through before ending up in the thrift store, abandoned. With the availability of dropshipping, online shopping, and the mass production of consumer goods, increasing amounts of unnecessary gadgets and household appliances are being advertised and sold at an attractive price. While they may promise both aesthetics and convenience in the short term, these products are often no more than gimmicks that end up in the landfill, and cost more money in the long run.
Your Life, Customized
“Your Life, Customized”, is a series of illustrations analyzing the unnoticed customizations in our lives, and considers the damage caused by such instant accessibility and convenience.
