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The Vending Machine Project |
IMAGES
ARTIST: Tristan Fennell
Title: 'Souvenir of Rampant Consumerism' (2006)
Medium: Colour Photograph mounted on PVC
Quantity Available: 20 (10 Variations)
Location: Crawdaddy, Connolly Station
About the work
As current consumer markets reach saturation point global brands are forced to
find new markets for their products. Brand management has surpassed the actual
value of the product. How something is sold is now far more important than what
is sold. The consumer has often already been sold the product before the purchase
has been made. This is the ultimate brand. There is no real product; by creating
its own brand, consumerism has become a commodity in itself. By placing these
photographs in a vending machine the audience is offered a memento of the consumer
experience. This is a "Souvenir of Rampant Consumerism", a celebration
of the vending machine as an instrument of consumerism.
The proliferation of vending
machines has eliminated the need for a human facilitator. Nowhere has embraced
this mode of consumerism more than Japan
where there is one vending machine to every twenty-three people. These machines
provide a convenient and effortless way to pursue consumerism. The Vending
Machines is a silent facilitator in the spectacle of consumerism. There is
only the consumer and the product. It is a perfect example of pure consumerism,
devoid of any human interaction. When “Everything is for Sale” even
consumerism can be sold.
- Tristan Fennell, 2006
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