“No doubt all of this is not the true remembrance but the ruinous work of Nostalgia, which obliterates the past, and no doubt as usual, I have exaggerated everything”

-Michael Chabon

Charlatans are always afoot, coyly perusing for a new venue where they can peddle their miracle snake oil.  Thanks to the overwhelming saturation of E-commerce, slick talking used car sales men endowed with the gift of gab have been replaced by buzz words, seductive graphics, shopping buggies, and free 3-5 day shipping.  In this online world of virtual feedback and revolving usernames there is little accountability for product quality; tar and feathering is no longer in vogue.

Mass produced goodness at half the price of the competition. My work exploits the deceptive nature of the multiple to seduce, entice and, ultimately, disappoint the viewer by failing to live up to their inflated expectations.  My “products” are described with doublespeak and thinly veiled in extravagant promises, all neatly packaged and delivered in a rendering of an imagined past. Nostalgia is an important character in my play and I use memories of personal childhood disappointment. One such disillusionment is based upon the novelty items ordered from ads located in the back of comic books I read as a kid. These products were never as original or extraordinary as the vendors made them out to be.

I appropriate the images, recreate the products featured under the guise of a fictitious company, and market the products online, as well as the real world.  The products are either well crafted and have some part of their functionality subverted, or are constructed from found / recycled materials.  I try to remain true to how the “real” products may have been constructed.  Ironically many of these shoddily produced products are more visually appealing and function better than the ‘real thing.’