Digital Imaging - Slave for Addiction

Intent: The intent of this project was to create a narrative using three or more images to illustrate how the coffee trade can be related to the illicit drug trade. I also wanted to try educate consumers that when they purchase a cheaper product in supermarkets to try and think where this product has come from because their is usually a reason why it is cheaper than others on the shelf.

Producing the final images- Five of the eight photographs were all my images that have staged with props and manipulated in photoshop. The images that i have uses from sourced sites and manipulated were 'Dealers', 'Silenced' and 'Slave Fields'.

Artist Statement-

Materials: Installation, Photography and Print

'Slave for Addiction' uses eight separate images to illustrate the parody between the coffee trade and the illicit drug trade. Together these images convey how mass marketing and consumption of cheap consumer products such as coffee may have a positive effect on consumers. Although this also has a horrific impact on the slave workers who are forced to work for these companies to produce a cheap alternative.

The set of images can be either viewed from left to right horizontally, though the narrative can be viewed starting from any image in the set. This is because each of the sections of the set inter weave and relate to each other through various points. An example of this is the slaves make the products, the consumers purchase them and them become dependant and addicted, this then becomes a never-ending cycle.

'The Lab'

This image is a take off of a backyard Meth lab in someones bathroom. 'The Lab' shows as consumers we don't know the actual origin of these products, what ingredients are put in them and if the label is displaying the correct information.

'Labyrinth'

(Same principal as the Lab from a different angle)

'Dependency'

'Dependency' illustrates societies absorption of mass marketing and product branding, it also discusses our dependency of repetition of daily activities such as drinking coffee every morning.

'Addiction'

'Addiction' discusses how some people have become heavily reliant on their daily fix of coffee just to even start there daily routine. This I believe starts from the marketing of caffeinated related products such as coffee to give us our quick fix of energy when we feel deflated. This is similar to the need drug addicts have to get there next hit, which is symbolised in the image by the girl shooting coffee directly into her veins.

'Cartel'

The image 'Cartel' illustrates the mass production and consumption of coffee through major supermarket chains and global enterprises across the world. As consumers we are able to buy coffee at cheaper prices then ever before. However amongst all the glamour and sleek advertising the background information of where these products have actually come from are forgotten. The companies who produce these products at low prices forget to mention the slaves who work in horrific conditions in third world countries to deliver us cheaper competitive prices. These supermarket giants in a way are like the local cartel like the illicit drug trade.

'Dealers'

'Dealers' is an altered image of a coffee chain giant Starbucks, referred here as Starfucks Coffee. This image relates to coffee shops as the dealers of coffee beans just like the dealers of the drug world. Coffee shops rely on consumers becoming addicted and dependant on there products so they purchase them on a daily basis.

'Silenced'

'Silenced' shows a young boy, like him many other children are forced to work in horrific conditions, just like the slave workers harvesting opium and cocaine. In this image he has his lips sewn together representing that he has no choice or no say over his entire life. This boy is forced to grow up into a world where consumers expect competitive prices and this is how supermarket giants achieve these figures.

'Slave Fields'

'Slave Fields' depicts a scene from everyday life which slave workers have to undergo just to stay alive. These people are forced to work at gun point just to produce coffee at competitive prices for retailer giants.

Other concepts and Ideas

My first concept for my narrative task was to create five images showing the effects of climate change over a 500 year period in tasmania. These two images were tests of possible layouts of the images, this idea was abandoned early as it became very time consuming the scale that i wanted these images to be.

Test Image Two

Test Image One