Trapped

My piece Trapped aims to raise awareness of the negative impacts of fast fashion. It represents the clothes trapping the workers who make the clothes- They are underpaid and overworked. It shows the workers who are underpaid and overworked, with the use of black fabric that acts as jail cell bars on one side of the canvas to show they are trapped in this industry. In contrast, on the other side of the canvas is the clothes that were made (the fast fashion), and the image of a happy, bright, world, differentiating the two sides. 93% of brands surveyed by the Fast Fashion Checker aren’t paying garment workers a living wage. This is clearly a huge problem, as these workers are putting a lot of effort into their work and deserve to be paid properly. Garment workers are also often forced to work 14-16 hours a day, 7 days a week. They are being exploited and forced to work for less than they need to live. The conditions are very cramped and I attempted to convey that in my artwork, using a jail cell to show not only that they are trapped, but there is no space either. I used an old, used canvas, painted over with white paint, and scrapped pieces of fabric provided by my teacher to make this artwork. I made sure not to use anything completely brand- new, as that defeats the purpose of the meaning behind my artwork. To conclude this, my aim was to bring awareness to the horrible conditions and wages these fast fashion workers are forced into, through my artwork.