Evolving the Unchanging

Rin is a tricky subject. Tricky because I am certain now of what I am saying with her but having much more difficulty actually convincing others of that message with the images alone. There are certain things that read - Stepford Wives, narcissism, plasticity - but the others don't - over consumption, entitlement, uselessness. It is the latter three that I am trying to push, that I want to demonstrate. As a culture I think we need to understand these vices and move away from them. We need to see what we have become, what we are turning our children into, and stop it, change it, fix it. And Rin is my way of holding up an ugly mirror to hopefully offend people just enough that they realize they hate the imagery because it reveals something nasty about themselves.

Of course then the question becomes how do you visualize entitlement? But not just the elite classes entitlement, but this pervasive entitlement that has overtaken the millenial generation? The belief that showing up to class alone means getting an A. The feeling of betrayal when something doesn't go their way, when they don't get the medal or the trophy.

And how do you demonstrate uselessness? Over consumption? I think I can manage the latter here, but how can I show everything in a limited amount of linear feet on a wall of a gallery? It's madness, I tell you. How can I evolve Rin when the greatest power that she has is that she never changes at all? Somehow the things around her must evolve and tell the story while she still remains vacant-eyed and clueless. At least the more I think about it the less I feel I am turning into her. She would never worry herself over...anything.

Here are the latest in the bunch. I am working with moving away from the "Stepford Wife" look, so some of these probably won't make the cut since they are more domestic types of tasks. The initial thought was to create images of things that she wouldn't be able to do while still looking perfect, like cleaning the house, but it seems to have read more as a gender issue. So I am moving away from that and introducing some new tactics.

Rin with cookies that she bought because she cannot cook.

This one I think is going to be a reshoot, even though it is one of my favorites in the whole series so far. I will post the new one if and when I reshoot.

Perfect cleaning supplies, unused, of course, perfect nails, perfect makeup, even perfect "working" hair. But, unfortuantely, she leans towards domestic. I see that and understand, but I also kind of like this one.

Perfect with the flu. This one is a favorite of some people. I think it reads plasticity. That is one of the topics, for certain, but I think it only reads plasticity. I am not sure if this is going to be in the show or not.

This was attempt #1 to move away from the thought of Rin as a housewife. Here, she is an executive, but hopefully in context it will start to seem like she is "mastering" way too many things. I am hoping with lots of these images side by side she will start to seem impossible, and then insulting. Because no one can be a CEO, an Olympian, a surgeon...etc. Lots of lifestyles and jobs that take a lifetime to master. That's the new direction.

I have also been sort of frustrated recently by certain activities that are in vogue but no one wants to really learn how to do them. There is a huge fad to be totally cute on the mountain without ever really understanding how to ski or snowboard. The last few times that we went out there were people who I swear stayed in the lodge the whole time just to look pretty. This goes for men and women, mind you. Having the latest outfit is more important that learning a new trick, or learning the sport at all. It seems that the inevitable Village at the base of every ski hill is more important to a lot of people than the hill itself. Even though the hill is the reason the Village exists. This is the sort of entitlement that drives me crazy. The thought that you are owed an ability, a degree, a reward, just because you go someplace. And the associated pouting that seems to accompany the people that don't ever get it.

This one is the first of the over consumptions. It is really pegged at the people who have four coffee breaks every day (notice the time) and always get the tripple grande carmel machiolatte extravaganza with extra whipped cream and cinnamon. I am alergic to coffee, so I have always found this phenomena absurd. Most other people in my class/life don't understand this to be over consumption at all. One even lovingly sheltered her coffee from me when I showed her the image. As a side note, whipped cream with cinnamon is tasty tasty! (Yes, I did consume this. Ironic, I know.)