Exhibited July 2011 - CART - Current Gallery, Baltimore, MD
The supermarket is a battleground with many different fronts. Product vs. product, consumer vs. marketer, consumer vs. storeowner, etc. Shoppers have few tools against the immense power that the store itself uses to influence what consumers want, what they see, and, ultimately, what they ingest. While we are often reminded that we can “vote with our dollars,” this is a blunt and largely ineffective tool against both the competitive and anticompetitive aspects of retail.
NOT STICKERS presents an alternative method of communication with other consumers as well as storeowners and employees. A set of bright orange stickers with text such as “NOT FOOD,” “NOT TESTED ON HUMANS,” and “FREE,” allow the consumer to interact with the otherwise impenetrable packaging and labeling of the products they see on the store shelves. At the opening, attendees will be provided with their own pack of stickers during an instructional demonstration involving real consumer products. The audience is encouraged to use the stickers at the opening itself, as well as upon future visits to grocery stores.
