Global Market
These photographs were taken in Thailand, Cuba and the Mall of America in Minnesota with an interest in the reciprocal relationship between cultural identity, the nature of merchandise for sale, and advertising images. Within any market, advertising influences the fluctuating balance between supply and demand in that it helps to create desire for merchandise. Within the global market, this dynamic is further complicated by sometimes surreal intersections of culture, as well as imbalances of national wealth and cultural influence. And within tourist markets, the objects for sale are often more a reflection of tourist expectations than an authentic representation of the toured. The global market connects us to one another the world over, linking spiritual, environmental and social issues, both domestic and global, to our consumer habits.