Versions of Excess
Michael Lim
This work serves as a semiotic analysis and deconstruction of the world of branding under the lens of Georges Bataille's The Accursed Share. The project is a critique on American popular culture, nationalism, indoctrination, consumption and capitalism.
“The living organism, in a situation determined by the play of energy on the surface of the globe, ordinarily receives more energy than is necessary for maintaining life; the excess energy (wealth) can be used for the growth of a system (e.g., an organism); if the system can no longer grow, or if the excess cannot be completely absorbed in it's growth, it must necessarily be lost without profit; it must be spent, willingly or not, gloriously or catastrophically.” —Georges Bataille, The Accursed Share: An Essay on General Economy, Volume I: Consumption.
With graphic sports jerseys used as the medium, they serve to signify the allegiance the wearer pledges when adorning the garment. Rivets were inserted into each shoulder to serve as a parallel to displaying jerseys as sports memorabilia.