Sashawhyy

A single can of corn occupies the freezer of an open refrigerator. Below it, five cobs of corn are arranged in a line. Each cob is cleaned and its tip and base is removed. At the base of the refrigerator, the waste produced from those five cobs spills onto the floor. Pictures of everything from meats to cheese and sodas, items commonly stocked in a refrigerator, are stuck on the fridge door.

The assemblage examines the positivity associated with the word ‘abundance’. A refrigerator is perhaps the most commonly owned item based on the principle of having and storing excess supplies.

The door of the refrigerator incites reflection on the behavioural patterns of the individual. Pictures of food and beverages on the door are glued closely together creating a dense visual. This graphic presentation allows the viewer an opportunity to re-examine what they consider essential and what they consider abundant.

The hierarchical pyramid of corn on the shelves of the refrigerator creates an image of a standard of presentation that is seen in supermarket bought food. By prioritizing the display of items that look aesthetically pleasing and rejecting those not conforming to their standards, supermarkets create tonnes of food waste every year. It is unclear whether these standards were developed as a result of customer’s expectations or the image of the brand.

In a time where we are constantly reminded of our limited resources on the planet, we would be remiss to not question our storage and consumption patterns to value and protect the few resources we still have readily available. Questioning the patterns of lifestyle that have created our societies is the way we can move forward as conscious beings that live on the planet without being detrimental towards it. This starts with small changes like looking at the amount of food in your fridge and how much of it you actually end up using.

‘A Crisis of Abundance’ was displayed as part of a group show at N3 campus, Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology. The work questions the often ignored negative aspects of ‘abundance’. Perhaps this is because when in abundance, the real value of a commodity is lost.

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Assemblage
Refrigerator, Corn, Canned Corn, LED Lights, Pictures
4×2.5 feet
2015
Made in collaboration with Avnit Kaur and Yash Kothari