CONSUMED (2004-ongoing)
“A hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty.” – Isaiah, 29:8
The physical remains of our mass-consumption litter the streets while the cheap foodstuffs pollute our bodies. All the while, the signs of fast food encroach upon us: advertisements and myths promote a brighter scenario allowing us to happily refuel at the drive-through window oblivious to the cycle that we perpetuate.
Americans are slaves to an industry whose influence over our society we do not fully comprehend. Worse, we abet this national drama by worshipping the signs and totems of this junk food culture, proving that the billions spenton fast food related advertising are doing their job.
Using medium-format color film to translate the saturated colors and hyper-reality ofthis industry’s advertising conventions, my work seeks to obliquely answer the question, “To what extent has the fast-food industry’s marketing andnutritional practices affect Americans?” In Consumed, I interpret the act of eating to be an act of ideology.
During travels around the U.S., I survey the landscape for signs and relics of the junk and fast-food industry. This project was made possible through the support of the White House News Photographers’ Association, the Puffin Foundation, Center at Santa Fe, and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
