Unifying Tiles-Topic: Obesity
Artist Statement
My first project of the year was the “unifying tiles” project. For this project, we were assigned to pick a current world issue that we wanted to focus on. After picking the topic, we had to create different tiles that all represented the topic and also had to make sure that the different tiles were unified.
After thinking carefully about the topic that I wanted to focus on, I decided to take on the issue of obesity. In today’s society, we often see in magazines and television the emphasis on the issues of eating disorders (anorexia) however are not on the issues of obesity. Compared to the problems of anorexia, obesity is not as heavily emphasized but is, without a doubt, a problem as critical, if not more, as the issue of anorexia. Especially with the worsening eating habits, and the increase in the number of junk food restaurants, the topic of obesity requires greater attention. In creating this project, my overall vision was to create tiles that clearly convey the purpose of the project. I hoped to create tiles that, no matter who sees them, represented the concept of obesity and the point that “we are what we eat.”
In my work, the hamburger represents the fast food that we often consume. By putting a human figure in the burger, I am trying to state that rather than us eating the hamburgers, we are being consumed from the inside out by burgers to the extent that we are just eating literally everything (perhaps even ourselves). Such thoughtless and indiscriminate style of eating, quite naturally, leads to obesity in people. I was inspired to make this piece because this issue of obesity is present everywhere around us, including within myself. The exposure to unhealthy junk food makes us vulnerable to the dangers of obesity.
I hope the people that view my work realize how urgent and critical the matter of obesity is. The overabundance of junk food restaurants, the easy access that we have to them, and how we consume things that are not healthy for us is heavily emphasized in my work. The process of creating the tile was not too difficult, other than the fact that gluing the tiles on to the board and gluing broken pieces of tiles together was quite difficult and time consuming. However, pressing the tiles down on to the board with a heavy object and growing patience helped the process work out better. The project was enjoyable and meaningful overall.
My first project of the year was the “unifying tiles” project. For this project, we were assigned to pick a current world issue that we wanted to focus on. After picking the topic, we had to create different tiles that all represented the topic and also had to make sure that the different tiles were unified.
After thinking carefully about the topic that I wanted to focus on, I decided to take on the issue of obesity. In today’s society, we often see in magazines and television the emphasis on the issues of eating disorders (anorexia) however are not on the issues of obesity. Compared to the problems of anorexia, obesity is not as heavily emphasized but is, without a doubt, a problem as critical, if not more, as the issue of anorexia. Especially with the worsening eating habits, and the increase in the number of junk food restaurants, the topic of obesity requires greater attention. In creating this project, my overall vision was to create tiles that clearly convey the purpose of the project. I hoped to create tiles that, no matter who sees them, represented the concept of obesity and the point that “we are what we eat.”
In my work, the hamburger represents the fast food that we often consume. By putting a human figure in the burger, I am trying to state that rather than us eating the hamburgers, we are being consumed from the inside out by burgers to the extent that we are just eating literally everything (perhaps even ourselves). Such thoughtless and indiscriminate style of eating, quite naturally, leads to obesity in people. I was inspired to make this piece because this issue of obesity is present everywhere around us, including within myself. The exposure to unhealthy junk food makes us vulnerable to the dangers of obesity.
I hope the people that view my work realize how urgent and critical the matter of obesity is. The overabundance of junk food restaurants, the easy access that we have to them, and how we consume things that are not healthy for us is heavily emphasized in my work. The process of creating the tile was not too difficult, other than the fact that gluing the tiles on to the board and gluing broken pieces of tiles together was quite difficult and time consuming. However, pressing the tiles down on to the board with a heavy object and growing patience helped the process work out better. The project was enjoyable and meaningful overall.