While on the Fellowship I spent a lot of time in the various thrift/charity shops in the area. The sheer waste of consumer culture was on full display in these sprawling stores, which were themselves outnumbered exponentially by the retail sprawl that dominates even this isolated region.
I started buying items that were meant to be “special” gifts – mass produced plaques with homilies in a “country craft” style, ‘Love Never Fails’ wall plaques, ‘World’s Best Mom’ ashtrays, faux fancy Kleenex box holders. I’d take these items an laser etch skulls onto them.
My intention was to gather enough items to re-create a domestic interior entirely populated by these items. In the end, there wasn’t enough time to create the installation; most of the items were returned to the charity shops (singularly, so as not to arouse suspicions). I wonder what has become of them?
