Keith Yahrling received his MFA in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2013 and his BFA in Photography from the University of the Arts in 2008. He has recently exhibited work at the Aperture Gallery in New York City, Gravy Studio in Philadelphia, and the Perkins Center for the Arts in Moorestown, New Jersey. His work was recently featured in Mossless Issue Three: The United States (2003-2013) and in the Oranbeg Press project Interleaves. Yahrling is currently based in Philadelphia, but continues to travel extensively for his personal work and he also works full-time as the Master Printer & Lab Manager at the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center. Today we look at his series American Consumerism.
American Consumerism
“American Consumerism depicts the spaces built by large companies to persuade shoppers to purchase vast amounts of products and goods. These stores sell a range of items, some are essential, like food and clothing, while others such as electronics and toys are not entirely necessary. Even though consumers purchase physical goods from these spaces, corporations have convinced us that we are purchasing much more than an object.
Many times the individual goods are aligned with a particular lifestyle a consumer hopes to associate with. I view the spaces in my photographs as a reflection of the individuals that shop there even though people are not shown. The products and spaces I depict have the potential to reveal the desires of individuals in our society and illustrate the unbalanced relationship of a materialistic culture.”
To view more of Keiths work, please visit his website.