Personal Piece: Romantic Consumerism

Here I have a nude figure. She is nude because I wanted her to exist outside of a cultural norm of fashion. For me the nude figure is innocent and free, timeless. She is looking down, in solemn contemplation, sitting on a crumbled pillar - the pillar of virtue. What do we have left of our virtue? Is it even part of our discourse or upbringing anymore?

A book I recently read: How to say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair opened my eyes to the perspective of the western world from the lens of the Rastafari Ideology. The west is generally labelled as "Babylon" and is a term that suggests a corrupt, soulless culture that certainly is devoid of any virtues. While in my opinion, Rastafari probably shouldn't be pointing the finger, it was provocative for me to be accused like that (I am a child of Babylon after all). Does that make me soulless and corrupt? What are the virtues of the west? I sat and thought and frankly could not think of one. I had to do research to understand what our virtues are! (Sorry to disappoint you Mom).

With some research, I can see that the virtues of western civilization are shaped by various influences (Ie Ancient Greece, Christianity and Humanism to name a few. In Yuval Noah Harari's book Sapiens, it is his view that we are living in a collective cultural pattern which can be called Romantic Consumerism. There are multiple sources and thinkers who have defined this pattern, but to summarize: Romantic Consumerism is the emphasis on meaning, authenticity, sensory experience, emotional intensity, nature, and individuality which we manifest through our purchasing decisions. What a way to feel gratification...NOT! So that is what this piece is about - highlighting the potentially non-gratifying path of practicing our virtues via consumption. Consumption of goods, foods, experiences. I'll do some more research and find the virtues that I do think are worthy, it's never too late I suppose.

I wanted to add a little bit of hope to this piece, so I added a yarrow plant which is a general benevolent healing plant that has been helping humans all along the way. What is the medicine we need now? What can heal us?