Work by Peter Deij
Tricky light or trick of light
For decades we have been struggling with over-consumption. As a society, we seem to be blinded by volume and size. Bigger homes, cars, collections and portions. There was a time that this was regarded as greed, but for that still to be true consumers would have to be completely responsible for this situation. There are other factors at work and we are being steered and stimulated by corporations. We think that the unconscious decisions we took while grocery shopping were independent. But we are sold a lot of things that we do not need. To allow us to increase our consumption, the intrinsic value has been removed from countless products and replaced with added value.
No bad news
Starving nations do not require light foods and drinks. Our society cannot imagine life without them. Is this the trick of light? Retailers never say no. Consumers with money can get what they want. The disappointment is deferred and no one needs to refuse you or give you bad news. The question is: if manufacturers are draining all the nutrition out of food and bragging about it, why is it that we seem to be OK with this? And has this trend spread to other areas in our lives?
Touchy feely
So much of what we experience today is through electronic devices. Shiny screens as flat as a mill pond. The surfaces we touch, keyboards and touch screens are as smooth and cool as glass. We are being robbed of textures, hardly surprising that younger generations get drawn into the simulated realities of games. The cross-over is all too easy.
Enlightment
Textures, smells and tastes abound in the real world. Isn’t it more fun to get out and about? Seeking out great things to see and experience. Discovering real things created in the minds of the people who make them. We can still go back, re-enter the parallel universe of reality, it is still there, for the time being at least. Really, it is not a trick of light.