Yi Chen

Behind The Spotlight

The issue that is identified in my illustration is the overconsumption/production within the fashion industry. The drawing portrays a person dressed lavishly, but there are piles of clothes on the runway and the dress is dripping blood; with ghostly figures on the sides. This represents the waste from overconsumption, the labor and how garments are so easily disregarded- also how luxury fashion is not as extravagant as it seems.

I understand that art and social awareness often go with each other because of how versatile it can be to create pieces that really declare opinions and views on events that happen. There are many artists who specialize in making art that has to do with current events, a lot who share different styles and techniques; their points still coming forth. This shows us how flexible art can be and how that is used to create more awareness within our society. Social awareness is significant because it lets the major audience know what is going on around the world that we live in, especially the problems that arise. This way more people can contribute to help the problems, even if just by a little. Together, people can make a big impact. There are many ways that art can be used to promote this social awareness. Simple things like posters around town, billboards, murals. It can also be posted online onto a digital platform, where people around the world can see. An example of this would be the works of the artist, David Milan. His art uses a lot of colour and bright elements, however he created a piece with only black and white that says, ‘Love has no color’. This provokes people to think more about what it could mean beneath the literal definition, and spreads awareness about the problems that it tackles.