Season 1, Day 23/30
This is not about shopping. It is about buying yourself.
One Minute, One Masterpiece, One Modern Idea
Seventeenth-century philosopher René Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am,” creating identity through the act of thinking.In 1987, conceptual artist Barbara Kruger declared, “I shop, therefore, I am,” creating identity through the act of buying.In her signature bold style — using the very aesthetics of the advertisements she is criticizing — Kruger pictures us as consumption-driven beings, defined by what we possess.
Today, we are driven to buy not only products, but lifestyles, vibes, and personalities. Our true self is swallowed by consumerism.You are your shopping cart.You become a commodity — a product, a transaction.
Kruger reminds us that internal voids can’t be filled by adding to our carts.What we buy is not who we are.
Your true meaning lives inside.
And that is why it matters.
To reflect: What are you buying in hopes of filling something deeper?
