Turn,turn,turn

Out with the old and in with the new: what looks good today may not look good tomorrow. The fashion industry is one of the biggest global businesses which consistently puts out new commodities. Accelerated by the popularity of online shopping, fast fashion brands, and the extravagant spectacles produced by fashion houses, we are like moths drawn to a flame.

In Turn, Turn, Turn, Nina Garibay presents paintings created from her collage-based practice of composing and piecing together images from fashion photoshoots in order to ponder and critique our relationship with fashion. Informed by her background in advertising, she notes how insecurity is preyed upon by the industry in order to turn out a profit. Characterized by her sharply cut yet smoothly blended figures, she utilizes the various captivating details of garments and transposes them onto silhouettes of unrecognizable models.

Tapping into our innate vanity which magazines utilize when presenting us aesthetically pleasing ware, her works become hauntingly self-questioning. With trends emerging and switching out just as quickly, is there a need to feel the fear of missing out?

Mid-flip through a page of a magazine, The Turning shows the moment before the looming thrill of being unable to look away from the incessant influx of new content. Fads that became the Ghost of Christmas Past present themselves now as a creature mutating into a landfill. The diminished popularity of items results in their premature disposal and consequently, a fast accumulation of waste.

A time to rend, and a time to sew

The Molting series shows several variations made possible within a woman’s silhouette that refer to the shifting of fashion seasons that happen annually. Since we as consumers think about clothing as an extension of the self and an expression of our identities, we are constantly presented with more commodified versions of ourselves to consider purchasing.

Light Trap asks us to think about what is next. Under the weight of overproduction of textiles and garments, the planet is being overwhelmed with the number of resources needed to ensure the allure of the fashion industry. Harvest drives this point home by juxtaposing a photograph of a model posed within lush greenery with another figure turning its head away from the scene, indifferent. In order to produce a large quantity of fiber ready to be turned into clothes, the global south yields its land to farm cotton, and corporations exploit its working class to supply cheap labor for sweatshops. With their speedy machinations, multiple pieces of clothing can be assembled quicker than the fastest growing plant.

And a time to every purpose, under heaven

Continuous expansion and accumulation are cyclical, akin to the process of Pollination. The visual engagement and tactility of clothing gives us an experiential buzz. Arranged cannabinoids on drapery, a figure perched on a honey jar, and an inverted yellow rose form a picture that reads like a fortune telling card that expresses a need to break from the hivemind created by the instant gratification of spending.

A preference for the immediate eases us into choosing subpar options: meals of little nutrition, and easily frayed, articles of clothing. Time is captured and tailor-fitted into such an infinitesimal window. Perhaps it is possible to enter a momentary lull and reconsider our consumption in this fast-paced consumerist world. Rather than always keeping up with the times, we dress to fit no other mold but our own.