Yo! I’m Your CEO
Borrowing her title from a 1995 essay writing contest initiated by the ice cream company, Ben & Jerry’s in search of a new CEO, Yasi Ghanbari’s installation was an inquiry into the psyche of the consumer, and how public consumption affects the interest of the individual.
Through her interest in interpassivity, the outsourcing of feelings and actions to others, Ghanbari criticizes companies who have interwoven capitalist strategies and humanitarian concerns. In particular, she displays an array of products applying the “buy one, give one” model, addressing the issue of consumer impunity: a marketing strategy providing a sense of apparent social consciousness by for-profit companies and abundantly factored in their profit/loss schemes.
Despite the fact that public acceptance and brand loyalty grows as products appear to benefit both the individual and their conscience, Ghanbari points out that something is missing from the equation. Assuming the character role of the self-aware artist, she sets a stage of heavy-handed ‘feel-good’ marketing, complete with the appropriate commodities. Through her colorful installations, Ghanbari examines the social effects of people growing closer to businesses, while only half-heartedly attempting to extricate herself from this process. Ghanbari’s work wedges apart the blurred connection of the interests of the individual and the interests of the community, highlighting the desire for authenticity in branding.
Yo! I’m Your C.E.O., 2014
Installation view
The World Is Nothing But A Problem To Be Solved By Enthusiasm, 2014
mannequin, slide projector, pedestal, various buy-one/give-one products
The World Is Nothing But A Problem To Be Solved By Enthusiasm, 2014
mannequin, slide projector, pedestal, various buy-one/give-one products
Social Innovation, 2014
HD video (8 minutes looped), monitor
Multicultural Stairs, 2014
Plywood, vinyl decal, latex paint
Multicultural Stairs, 2014
Plywood, vinyl decal, latex paint
Think Like a Painter (Changing Rooms)
HD video (14 minutes looped), canvas, pine, acrylic ink, Toms shoes
Think Like a Painter (Changing Rooms)
HD video (14 minutes looped), canvas, pine, acrylic ink, Toms shoes
Think Like a Painter (Changing Rooms)
HD video (14 minutes looped), canvas, pine, acrylic ink, Toms shoes