Covid-19 Arms

This artwork reflects my ongoing interest in the effects of global consumerism on our minds and bodies. A figure is shown in a posture of excitability, legs running forward and arms waving wildly with hands outstretched. There is a sense of urgency to her gestures, reaching energetically at nothing in particular. Her face reflects an expression of ecstasy — perhaps at the anticipation of consumption — in a parody of empty consumerism and fetishizing of material goods. The prospect of scarcity at the beginning of the coronavirus shutdown threw the shopping instinct into overdrive. I animated the tragicomic figure and surrounded her with consumer goods most in demand during the panic buying spree: canned food, toilet paper, sanitizing wipes and other cleaning supplies.

Title: “Whirlwind Shopping Spree: Covid-19 Arms”
Animation of Collage on Paper, 2020, Dimensions Variable