What It’s Worth
Acrylic on Canvas
16” x 20”
The focal point presented is of me being shoved into a scanner of a self checkout section in a store. As a child, self worth was never a question that needed to be answered. The little characters inside the scanner are representative of the judgment people have had as a child, watching me change overtime. As kids grow up, "worth" has transformed into what other people wanted. The judgment of others amplified by social media, we as a society begin to define ourselves in materialistic aspects of the world. Our own opinion of ourselves becomes worthless and is shoved into being told what value we are. It’s a mold created by the very people we admire as to what body we should have, what things we should like, and why we are not enough. Conveying this idea where the expectations of others force us to be a certain way, choking all individuality from the creative, bright child we once were. Thus, literally scanning our worth in a store that we don’t belong to. Although the tax label on the checkout screen is small, it says happiness. In order to meet society's needs and gain the validation of being of value, happiness is ultimately the cost.