FMP Final Outcomes

Fig. 1 Lines Define Us- Gulem Ezer (author's own)

Fig. 2 This Is Us- Gulem Ezer (author's own)

Fig. 3 What Are You Buying?- Gulem Ezer (author's own)

Fig. 4 Lies Sold Through Lines- Gulem Ezer (author's own)

These are my four final pieces. Figure 1 and 2 are two-layered posters, the original printed versions have an acetate layer on the top, therefore have a different effect. Especially with Figure 2, you cannot read the writing through it clearly on screen as I tried to lower the opacity of the top layer, but it obviously needed to be lowered a little bit more in order to make it legible.

Continuing with the lines and bar code theme, I have created these four posters.

Figure 1 has a simple statement, 'lines define us'. By this, I am simply pointing out that we allowed bar codes to be our definition. We have become consumerists, we buy to become "beautiful", we buy to alter ourselves, therefore the definition of who we are, are those lines we scan.

Figure 2 is a long riddle-like statement, it says, 'we follow lines, to scan lines, to buy products, that help get rid of lines. This is the guideline to beauty... The lines are blurred. This is me. This is you. This is us.' To translate, what I am trying to explain here is, that we follow crowds  and queue up in order to scan lines (bar codes) to spend money on products that supposedly help us get rid of lines (wrinkles) and this is the guideline to what beauty is. This is the idea of beauty that is sold to us by the media, but these lines are blurred, we don't see them as a pattern that links, not consciously anyway, of course people are aware, but not many stop to consider, they just continue with their lives because it just seems natural to do so. Therefore since we all do it, This is ME. This is YOU. This is US.

Figure 3 is probably the most simplest poster, yet I think the most visually effective. It's a simple question, there is no riddle to it, and it is presented in a very simple way. The question is, 'are you buying what you are or what you want to be?'. It's a bit like saying, 'you are what you eat' except, in this case, 'you are what you buy', but the question is, are you? Or are you trying to be what you believe you should actually be?

Figure 4 is the last poster. This poster, although it may not seem like it, took a very long time to produce as I had to cut the bar codes into the shape of the letters one by one. 'Lies sold through lines', again, a very simple statement, I am basically pointing out that these products that we buy or that are being advertised are mainly lies, and they are sold through these lines that we willingly scan and spend money over. Funny, right? It's not that the consumer is at all 'stupid', no, in fact we are all very aware of what we do, we just act oblivious to it! And maybe, just maybe, we need posters like this to wake us up once in a while, then we could always go back to the dream... or is it difficult to return once we've awaken?