THIS IS FOR SALE by etchingroom1
In this project, which presents drawings and textile artworks etchingroom1 aims to address the culture of consumption and extraction that still prevails.
The fact that despite many communities trying to raise awareness of the imminent irreparable damage to the climate and the ongoing subjugation of the most vulnerable populations to slave labor in hazardous conditions, production and consumption levels continue to rise. Revisiting this topic, they want to ask why owning a lot of things is celebrated as the ultimate success, while meaningful connections to the environment, kindness, and community building are not prioritized.
Capitalism pushes people to believe in the idea of exponential growth, despite the looming painful consequences of such a mindset. They want to closely examine the schemes and methods used to lure people into consumption, which are mainly based on lovelessness, negation, and a perpetual feeling of insufficiency. They believe that building caring and strong ties between communities worldwide instead of consuming can truly make a difference, but this is impossible without certain changes to lifestyles. The Etching Room is not experimenting with materials for the first time. The project idea this time pushed them towards creating a textile panel from fabric and clothing found on the street.
In their work, they approach this with a characteristic touch of irony, incorporating elements of poster art and comics, typical for their art. And the pencil drawings are the artists' version of metal candy tin boxes. Their characters pose uncomfortable questions, silently gaze at us, or reflect us back.