My senior capstone project explores the complex relationship between celebrities, media, and the public. This complex exchange has commodified stars and results in an array of negative effects on all parties involved. My installation seeks to invite the audience to interact and reveals dark truths about pop culture, leaving one wondering whether or not their next celebrity crush is so harmless after all.  

The visual language transpires across motion, environmental, and print forms. Repetition, fragmentation, and distortion are at play, transforming existing images we are bombarded with in the media to reflect the warped nature of the stars persona through the commodification process.

Viewers are invited into the space with vivid colors and an energetic animated video. As the fragmented celebrity photos on the poster walls are torn down, the full picture constantly changes, leaving one’s reflection as the final image. This forces the viewer to consider their role in the commodification process, and the distorted picture staring back represents how our perceptions of ourselves and of others are never really what they seem, the commodification of celebrities not only refracts these people into objects but distorts our self image as well.

The torn posters can be folded up, becoming book covers for the exhibition pamphlet that provides information and articles on the topic. Leaving viewers with a physical piece they have had their hands in manipulating and can take with them.