​SHOPPING Carts OR THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF CAPITALISM

I have always been fascinated with objects we take for granted, especially the ubiquitous detritus of modernity. The nature of late-stage capitalism has created a deep quarry of discarded objects that both give a view to a time that has barely passed and a rich mosaic of accidental art like installation structures in the wild. Shopping carts are one of the most ubiquitous of these modern objects. The modern shopping cart design is barely a hundred years old but has so ingrained itself into our society that it has become invisible except when isolated away from its perceived functional home in the shopping arena. Symbolically, the shopping cart is one of the foundational building blocks and gateways to consumerism, but it is so much more. Besides being the perfectly designed storage medium for overconsumption, when removed from its natural environment it becomes both an image of symbolic rejection of consumerism as well as a perfect "on the go" storage medium. It is one of the reasons we see so many floating around in the wilds of the city. These discarded carts, the ones that have become orphans, are the basis of my new series of works. These carts transcend their perceived function and become symbolic of late-stage modernity and its unforeseen consequences in relation to end stage capitalism. I play with isolating or uncoupling the carts from any tangible environment to highlight this symbology. They are like ghosts floating in a fragmented world created by layered Post-it Notes. 
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Late stage capitalism. Ink and watercolor on arranged Post it Notes. Roughly 8" X 6" 2024