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Wanda Fraga Cuba, 1994
36.19 x 36.19 cm
One of the most recurrent symbolic elements in my work is fashion since I consider it a direct expression of human identity and the state of our current society.
Fabrics are not only meant to protect us from the cold weather anymore, now they are also a sort of mask or even an armor we choose to present ourselves to the world, or maybe hide who we really are.
From my micro-world of self-identity to the macrocosm of the fashion industry, clothing is the ostentation of power, wealth, and social validation.
That’s why I often allude to this “modern” survival fight, where men have to sell themselves as a “product” to the world; adapt themselves to what is “trendy” or stay boring and timeless instead.
As human beings, we try to “belong” to the group and that sometimes implies to sacrifice our individualism, like cells that cluster together to form one only structure of a leaf, modern men adopt fashion tendencies and aspire to acquire objects that most of the time turn to be absurd, becoming a victim of a constant validation addiction.