New! Improved!

An exploration into perception in the consumer age.

“We use brands – and their symbolism – to help
decode our increasingly complex consumer world.
We do it unknowingly…until someone challenges
our acquiescence by changing the code.”

The Mojo Collective presents ‘New! Improved!’ - an exhibition of work that explores the subject of perception in the consumer age using iconic names, packaging, colours and symbols.

In the same way that art has always questioned perceived truths, the Mojo Collective sets out to examine the complex emotive associations that we attach to brands, and to demonstrate how deeply engrained they can be.

Parodying the clinical, bold, stark ‘pack shot’ delivery of the commercial world, the intriguing series of images in the exhibition challenges us on two levels.

At first glance the body of work appears to consist of deadpan but witty visual juxtapositions. But, then something more fundamental happens:  the viewer’s subjective hardwired preconceptions are confronted, creating uncomfortable disconnections. These can range from embarrassment to revulsion to humour, depending on the depth of the association.

What the work demonstrates is that humans still respond to visual symbolism as fundamentally as they ever have done, and how disorientating it can be when these symbols are presented in an unfamiliar context.

More tellingly, it also highlights how deeply brand associations are ingrained in our subconscious, and how they inform our culture and give meaning to our everyday lives.

It seems we now use brands to help us decode our increasingly complex consumer world.

And we do it unknowingly…. until someone challenges our acquiescence by changing the code.

The Mojo Collective consists of designers, creative writers, art directors, artists, curators and strategic thinkers from the Mojo Group, a communication company dedicated to art, business and soul.

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