From a young age, children are indoctrinated to believe that the world, and how society exists, is how it’s always been and is how it will always be. This damaging thought results in few people questioning the status quo or brainstorming on ways to improve the world as they grow up. And, perhaps, it’s for this reason that many people are referred to as ‘sheep’, for they are more willing to follow the pack than step out of line for fear of being ridiculed or ignored.
Today, the world demands more free-thinkers who are willing to point out the uncomfortable so that change might take place. If the system, or a combination of systems, fail to support the populace as a whole, renovation is needed.
It’s intriguing how during the 40’s, 50’s, and even 60’s in America, people tried harder than ever to brush uncomfortable truths underneath the rug and only expose the ‘good’ of what one could expect to experience when they signed up for the ‘American dream‘. Today, it’s a common fact that the American dream doesn’t work for everyone. That’s why the Black Lives Matter movement exists, for example, as racial equality is not easily realized within the present system.
By editing corny American photos, it is believed that Polish artist Weronika Gęsicka sought to either remind or make fun of the false pretenses many people offer to the outside world.
Gesicka explains:
“The project is based on vintage photographs purchased from an image bank. Most of these photos came from American archives from the 1950s and 1960s.”
“We know nothing of the actual ties between the individuals in the photographs; we can only guess at the truthfulness of their gestures and gazes,” Gęsicka added. “Are they actors playing happy families, or real persons whose photos were put up for sale by the image bank?”
The unsettling images that follow portray a distorted reality and, as Bored Panda points out, the duality is captivating.
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