On the 7th of August I had opened a small exhibition in a nice place in the center of Riga – Zvaigzne Café (Kr.Valdemara, 6). It is the café with excellent coffee and shelves with books. Every month the cafe changes exposition, so you can discover new artists when visiting often. I definitely recommend it for a visit during your walk in the center of Riga.
It was a set of four paintings with a theme being most marketed products in the world (in my opinion) – Mickey Mouse, Pop Corn, Coca Cola and US dollar.
This is what makes you want to buy them immediately, no matter how skeptical your attitude towards those is. Coca Cola, Mickey Mouse and Pop Corn, this is what is sitting in your subconscious.
Absolutely everyone knows what Coca-Cola, Pop Corn or Mickey Mouse is. Over the years, we have been successfully inspired to drink, eat and watch. All of these items are symbols of belonging to certain groups. In fact, they are not important for our life at all, but no one doubts whether one needs buying Coke and PopCorn while watching Walt Disney cartoons in the cinema, even when understanding that none of those are really needed.
This series of pictures is just a reminder, that sometimes you have to be critical of what you hear from television, radio or advertising on the street.
The pictures themselves are trying to tell you what exactly marketers want to inspire.
Just think about how many generations already know these things and want to buy them, immediately once reminded to do so.
The fourth painting combines the previous three. It shows the most important subject used for the acquisition of all, that marketers suggest to you - the most famous currency in the world.
The paintings are made in the pop art style, which gained its popularity in the 60s. Objects are drawn in a simplified form, so that viewers would pay attention not to the drawing technique, but to see a particular object and think about its meaning and what it is forcing on you every minute.