You Know You Want It looks at the exploitation of consumer desires by advertisers within the 20th and 21st century. Joshua Gaskell’s work focusses on the system of false needs promoted within Capitalist societies which encourage the endless accumulation of capital under the notion that what a person owns constitutes their value within society. Gaskell appropriated sexualised imagery from advertising and repurposed it to present products he photographed without sexual connotations but linked and presented them alongside the provocative images that were used to advertise such items.
Gaskell’s work is aesthetically inspired by post-millennial fashion and product advertising. Inspired by Laura Mulvey, the male gaze and objectification are highlighted within advertisement by the project as a key theme of advertising. The project features appropriated examples from far before Mulvey coined the term, displaying it as a deep-rooted issue through the broad temporal scope of the project. This extensive perspective, which is inspired to an extent by Marxist viewpoints on art and advertising, not only shows the gaze but also how it and sexualisation have changed as an advertising tool. Advertising has become increasingly provocative to satisfy the ambition of suppliers, who present ever more radiant people, displayed progressively richer and with more sexual success over time.
Gaskell’s work is aesthetically inspired by post-millennial fashion and product advertising. Inspired by Laura Mulvey, the male gaze and objectification are highlighted within advertisement by the project as a key theme of advertising. The project features appropriated examples from far before Mulvey coined the term, displaying it as a deep-rooted issue through the broad temporal scope of the project. This extensive perspective, which is inspired to an extent by Marxist viewpoints on art and advertising, not only shows the gaze but also how it and sexualisation have changed as an advertising tool. Advertising has become increasingly provocative to satisfy the ambition of suppliers, who present ever more radiant people, displayed progressively richer and with more sexual success over time.