THEMES

03.26

SUGAR BUSH reads like a dream... There is no aspiration to build a clear or logical narrative, the publication will read instead as loosely connected fragments of text and image. Through photography, illustration, appropriation, text, and poetry, I aim to address the following themes:

01. EMOTIONAL ATMOSPHERE

• Anxiety
• Absence & accumulation
• Fragile patriotism
• Security & surveillance
• Hedonism
• Bougeouis coldness
• Hope
• Aspiration & insecurity
• Suburban boredom
• Territorialism
• Exclusion / alienation

02. THE SUBURB AS A THRESHOLD

The suburb functions as a cultural threshold between identities, creating an uneasy atmosphere of competition and cultural mimicry.* UPPER-MIDDLE CLASS ASPIRATION• Old money / new money aesthetics
• Appropriation of prep culture
• Academic achievement and Ivy League persona
• Churchwear and formal dress
• Mall clothes (Lululemon, Tory Burch, business casual)* LOWER-MIDDLE CLASS IDENTITY• Family values and self-sufficiency
• Industrial labor and inherited trades
• Nationalism and heritage
• Workwear and hunting apparel

03. TERRITORIAL MARKERS

• Lawns
• Borders: Fences, property lines, etc.
• Domestic interiors: imperfections in the home, décor
• Security systems
• Artificial landscapes
• Frontiers
• Terrain vague
• Decay / obsolescence
• Parking lots, big box developments

04. OBJECTS (SUBURBAN ARTIFACTS)

• Spirit wear
• Lawn ornaments, seasonal décor
• Consumer objects (Starbucks, Stanley)
• Hunting gear, gun memorabilia
• Hometown hero signs
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