Status : Verified
| Personal Name | Borlagdan, Maica Rozel D. |
|---|---|
| Resource Title | Abot Kaya? Contextualizing the cost of living through sari-sari stores |
| Date Issued | June 2023 |
| Abstract | Abot Kaya? – An everyday question that echoes in the mind of a struggling individual as we continue to experience the impacts of inflation in the country whereas living has somewhat become a matter of survival. As an artist with knowledge and experience in selling general merchandise to people in our small town through our family’s small sari-sari store business, my work seeks to relate with the audience by sharing the common struggles in consuming and surviving on a limited number of commodities in the face of current inflation. This thesis explores the process of visualizing the effects of inflation through the lens of recognizable Filipino images, experiences, and storefront characteristics found in local neighborhood stores. By altering the usual scale of various products and popular subjects that are visually incorporated and recognizable within the local neighborhood stores. This thesis investigates how the manipulation of scale and proportion within these visual subjects contribute to storytelling, enhance comprehension of underlying concepts, and highlight social, economic, and cultural disparities through a thorough analysis of visual representations found in local stores. Since sari-sari stores are known to serve the purpose of providing basic necessities in staple amounts, the process of miniaturizing the usual size of a product underlines the declining worth and quantity of commodities that people are currently receiving by reducing the customary size of the products. Producing multiple copies of miniature items also acts as a metaphor for the cyclical nature of the struggle. The act of making art involves the laborious task of meticulously replicating familiar objects on a smaller scale, which captures the recurrence of these experiences. Through this thesis, the artist highlights the repetitive nature of this crisis, depicting the experiences and narratives that individuals endure as they navigate the impacts of inflation. This imaginative depiction in the form of a wall-bound mixed media work encourages viewers to consider their own experiences with inflation and the never-ending cycle of coping with its impacts. This thesis seeks to spark conversations, arouse awareness and empathy, and shed light on this pressing matter we experience. |
| Degree Course | Bachelor of Fine Art Major in Painting |
| Language | English |
| Keyword | cost of living; mixed media; repetition; sari-sari store; scale |
| Material Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
Preliminary Pages
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