Big Clash
The artwork Big Clash presents us with a fast food attendant inserted into a universe of saturated colors and a POP atmosphere, inviting us to reflect on consumption and the dissonance between the promised and the real. Her vintage uniform, with simple and timeless lines, evokes a sense of nostalgia and confidence, harking to the idea of an idealized past. However, the attendant's enigmatic smile – simultaneously childish and devilish – subverts this feeling, turning it into a provocation. The red clown nose and the missing tooth amplify this ambiguity, suggesting that behind the welcoming façade and the promise of immediate pleasure, there is something dissonant, perhaps disturbing, that escapes superficial perception.
The hamburger she carefully holds, described in the story as a "masterpiece of gastronomy," transforms into a symbol of empty promises. The consumption experience, which should be unique and authentic, reveals itself as a repetitive and mediocre rehashing of something already worn out. The slogan “The sandwich born from a cause!” adds irony to the context, alluding to the recurring use of emotional marketing to mask the banality of the product. Thus, the work exposes how we are led, like part of a herd, to desire what is imposed on us, often without questioning the narratives we consume – and that consume us.
The story created alongside the artwork deepens this reflection, guiding us through a process of alienation and frustration that permeates the act of consumption. Big Clash confronts us with the central contradiction of contemporary consumption and entertainment: fueled by the promise of innovation, yet offering only the repeated, the superficial, the empty. More than that, it forces us to face these spectacle and consumption narratives with a critical eye, questioning not only what we desire but also how that desire is fabricated and directed. In a society where advertising often overrides the truth, Anuk Vardan's work challenges us to distinguish between what is real and authentic and what is imposed as such.