I actually printed that photo that I was talking about a couple of posts ago. I printed the words separately on photo paper then cut them out and pasted them on to the original photo along with a real $2 coin, so that it looked like I'd got the words from a physical publication. I then stuck a strip of sellotape across the words but it pretty much became invisible and didn't really carry the ideas I wanted it to, so now I'm just pretending that it's not there. I also removed the words "top story", because although they referenced the kind of media that this images opposes, it didn't quite read right when I looked at it. The words also arranged much nicer once I changed it.
For this version I purposely pixelated the face to show the degradation of the image in relations to it's message.
"What is the cost of your lust?" - although this was just a series of words I found on the websites of tacky magazines and strung together, it still holds a meaning with various interpretations and connotations.
It can be referring to the price of the clothes and products needed to achieve the narrow vision of the ideal female image presented to us by the media, and at the same time it can be referring to the cost of conforming to such a vision for both the individual and feminism as a whole.
It can be talking about the kind of hypersexualized image created by achieving the image that is expected of us, it can also be talking about a lust for money and material wealth in relation to achieving the ideal vision of femininity.
The pixelated image reflects the degradation that can be caused to the individual from the thirst for wealth and "ideal" beauty, as well as the degradation to women as a whole when individuals are going out of their way to sell themselves as a form of success.
As well as a real $2 coin looking better than just a 2d image, I added this because there is an instant feeling of greed generated by real money. It makes you want to rip it off the photo and spend it on something trivial, but you know that you can not because it will ruin the artwork . It is this feeling of the unattainable that I wanted to create, as the airbrushed image of femininity that the media sells us today is also unattainable. You can spend all your spare pennies on foundation and shoes, but at the end of the day you still won't look like the girls on the magazine covers, because even the girls themselves don't look like that.
It could also be read as an option: you can take the money and spend it trying to achieve this image, or you can leave it and pursue more wholesome goals.
The coin is also placed over an eye, so the face is hiding behind money, whether it be money spent on makeup that also hides the face, or an industry that exchanges an unrealistic image of beauty for money. The coin could also be there instead of an eye, so that the money is the thing staring at you, challenging you to stare back at it and not be sucked in to it's trap.
I am most pleased with the size of this image. It's the size of a snapshot, something personal that you can hold and view by yourself. It's like a postcard or a letter addressed directly to whoever's holding it, challenging them to consider what it says.
To emphasize this I may stick a stamp on the back and address it to "you" or "womankind".
I am still unsure as to whether this can be made to fit in with my final body of work. I'm thinking about my presentation a lot now, and contemplating the possibilities of having multiple images, however I wouldn't want this to be on the wall. It would have to be something that was distributed and held. I could perhaps have a small series printed of the top image and distribute them during my presentation, but then there's the question of whether they just get handed to the females or the males as well? And where would I put them?
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